


Bury the Future Behind

by thetimeladyswan



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Sarah Jane Adventures, Torchwood
Genre: Action/Adventure, F/M, Family, Friendship, Multi, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-14
Updated: 2016-12-22
Packaged: 2018-02-08 20:34:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 40,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1955286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thetimeladyswan/pseuds/thetimeladyswan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(Previously untitled)<br/>Jenny crash-lands in Gwen and Rhys's back garden.<br/>She joins the newly re-established Torchwood, as she continues her efforts to find her father.<br/>(Word of warning, this is gonna be long).</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> I started this work two years ago, and expect to be writing it for many years into the future. I, like many people before me, am attempting to write Jenny a story that will do her character and potential justice. As much as I love the idea of her adventuring and following in her father's footsteps, she'll be on Earth for a good chunk of this fic.  
> Love to everyone who supported me over at ff.net, my friends Sinead (who lets me bounce ideas off her) and Lara (who betas this fic)

* * *

_Chapter One_

* * *

 

 

They’d bought a house on the outskirts of Cardiff city, not far from the ruined Torchwood building, which, surprisingly, was being rebuilt. Gwen took Anwen for walks to the bay to check its progress, wondering if Jack was behind it. She hadn’t seen Jack since the events of Miracle Day, and had returned to the city, not necessarily because it seemed safe, but because her father was gravely ill, and, since Miracle Day was over, it was much more of a pressing concern. She’d spent countless nights in the hospital, drinking coffee and telling Anwen stories until Rhys came to collect her in the evenings. Her father had died several months ago, the day after Anwen spoke her first word in a hospital corridor.

 

Anwen was a year old now, and beginning to walk, falling over on the carpeted floor of their living room, which was one with the kitchen, the point where tiles turned to carpet marking the place where a door would have been. There was no talk of Torchwood, and Rhys had no idea that she had been anywhere near the bay.

 

It was lazy afternoon in late summer, when it happened. It was a bleak day, but the sun fought its way through and weak rays shone through the window. Anwen was playing with her toys on the living room floor, watched by Gwen, who was sitting at the kitchen table, trying to will herself to get up and make lunch. Rhys was in the tiny room where they’d put a computer and called a study, doing god-knew-what.

 

It was peaceful, but that was quickly shattered by a loud crash from the back garden. Gwen turned to look out the window.

 

“What the bloody hell was that?” Rhys demanded, appearing in the sitting room and scooping up Anwen, who had begun to cry.

 

Gwen took her gun from where it was hidden in a cupboard of mugs and, putting it in her back pocket, she slipped out the door.

 

The smoky remains of what appeared to be a space shuttle were strewn at the bottom of the garden. Luckily, the neighbours did not notice anything – Gwen was down to her last few retcon tablets. The mangled door opened, and a young woman, her blonde hair in an askew pony-tail, emerged from the wreckage, greenish eyes flickering around, surveying her surroundings. Blood trickled from a wound on her forehead.

 

“Hello,” she said, jumping out and landing on the grass with a slight thump. She tested her leg, which was obviously hurting her, and gingerly touched her head wound. “Sorry. I don’t know what happened; I’ve never crashed before. I’m Jenny.”

 

“Jenny? That’s it?”

 

“Yup,” said the stranger, sighing as her gaze passed over her ruined space ship. She turned back to Gwen. “Who are you?”

 

“Gwen Cooper, ex-police. How did you get here? What are you?”

 

“I’m a Time Lord, I think. Or Time Lady, if you like. I was on a planet called Adria, where horses are sacred. Humans and Aplans live there. I lost control just as I was leaving; I don’t know what happened.”

 

“Come inside,” Gwen offered, feeling compassion for the lost girl. “I’ll see if I can do something about that cut.”

 

“Thank you,” said Jenny graciously, following her inside, limping only slightly.

 

“Who’s this?” Rhys asked.

 

“Jenny, she crashed. Jenny, this is my husband, Rhys, and our daughter, Anwen.”

 

“Hello,” said Jenny politely.

 

“‘Lo,” Anwen gurgled. Rhys remained silent.

 

Gwen patted the table to indicate that Jenny should sit there and disappeared to find the first-aid kit. Rhys brought Anwen away, mumbling something under his breath.

 

Jenny sat on the kitchen table and Gwen fiddled with the first aid kit, dampening a wad of cotton wool and cleaning Jenny’s wound.

 

“Where are you from?” Gwen asked curiously.

 

“Messaline,” Jenny replied, wincing. Gwen apologised, dabbing more gently at her forehead.

 

“And you’re not human?”

 

“No,” said Jenny. “I’ve got two hearts.”

 

Gwen’s eyebrows rose, but she merely asked, “You were travelling, I take it?”

 

“Yeah. Looking for my Dad.”

 

“Who’s that then?” Gwen asked, dipping a clean wad of cotton wool into some antiseptic.

 

“He calls himself The Doctor.”

 

Gwen froze, eyes widening and meeting Jenny’s questioningly. _‘Are you serious?_ ’ they asked.

 

Jenny’s eyes lit up. “You know him?”

 

“You’re his _daughter_?”

 

“Yup. Well, I’m a generated anomaly … apparently. I _was_ created using his DNA.”

 

“Stay there,” said Gwen, backing out of the kitchen. “Stay there.”

 

“I'm not a dog,” Jenny said. Gwen smiled.

 

“Rhys, where’s the phone?” she heard her call, and heard him yell back. Gwen returned, holding a black mobile phone to her ear, pacing anxiously around the kitchen.

 

“Jack?” she asked. “Hi … yeah, it has been, hasn’t it …? We’re back in the city, yeah … what? Yes, I thought so but I wasn't sure. Anyway, there’s someone here I thought you’d like to meet, as long as you _behave_. Yeah, see you soon.”

 

“Who’s Jack?” Jenny asked curiously, as Gwen hung up the phone and picked up the antiseptic-dampened piece of cotton wool, dabbing Jenny’s now-clean wound with it.

 

“An old friend,” she replied vaguely. “There; that’s the best I can do; I’m no doctor. I don’t think you need a bandage, it’s not that bad. What about concussion? Do you feel all right?”

 

“Yeah, a bit dizzy …”

 

“How many fingers am I holding up?” she asked, holding up a hand.

 

“Four, and a thumb. I’m fine, I’m a soldier.”

 

“A soldier?” Gwen repeated with a frown, closing the first-aid kit.

 

“Messaline, you’ve never heard of it?”

 

She shook her head.

 

“There was a war. I was created in the middle of it, programmed to be a soldier – all this … stuff in my head. I stopped killing, though. I have my Dad to thank for that.”

 

“Hmm …” said Gwen, rummaging in the cupboards for something. “How’s your leg?”

 

Jenny felt it. “It’s all right,” she jumped from the table, emphasising her point.

 

“Okay. Would you like some tea?”

 

“Yeah, thanks.”

 

“Go in and sit down,” she was ordered.

 

Apprehensively, Jenny stepped into the living room, sitting on the sofa. Toys that must have been Anwen’s were strewn on the floor not far from her.

 

No sooner had Gwen handed her a mug of tea than the doorbell rang. Gwen disappeared down a hall and opened the door.

 

“It’s good to see you again!” Jenny heard Gwen say.

 

“And you,” a stranger, Jack, replied. “Now, who were you talking about?”

 

“Jenny, this is Captain Jack Harkness,” said Gwen, as she returned to the living room, with a black-haired man, dressed in a blue shirt and braces, and a dark blue coat. “Jack, this is Jenny, the Doctor’s daughter.”

 

Jack stared. “Really?”

 

“Really,” said Jenny with a small smile, standing up and offering a hand. Jack shook it. She sat back down and he sat in an armchair, considering her.

 

“Would you like some tea?” Gwen asked.

 

“Yeah, thank you,” Jack smiled at her.

 

“You know my Dad, then?” Jenny asked.

 

“Yeah, I know him. Met him three times now,” he fell silent. “How did you end up on your own?”

 

“He thinks I’m dead,” said Jenny, as Gwen returned with a mug of tea for Jack, and Rhys appeared from a hallway.

 

“Jack,” he nodded.

“Rhys.”

 

“Where’s Anwen?” Gwen asked.

 

“Asleep,” Rhys replied.

 

“What do you mean, he thinks you’re dead?” Jack asked, returning his attention to Jenny as Gwen and Rhys went into the kitchen. “Did you regenerate?”

 

“No,” Jenny shook her head. “I don’t look any different. I don’t know what happened. This man was going to shoot Dad – I took the bullet. I woke up, not long after, but he was gone. I stole a space shuttle to try and find him, but no sign.”

 

“Who was with him?” Jack questioned.

 

“Donna and Martha.”

 

“Well, I could take you to see Martha,” he said, as Gwen reappeared with a plate of biscuits. Jenny took one. “He has a mobile phone that belonged to her. She’s got the number.”

 

“What about Donna?”

 

Jack sighed. “She can’t remember anything. I don’t know what happened, but I met her and she didn’t know me.”

 

“That’s awful,” Jenny murmured. “I liked Donna. She named me, you know.”

 

“Did she? Well, she’s happy, at least. She’s married.”

 

“What about Martha?” Jenny asked curiously.

 

“Yeah, she’s married too.”

 

“So,” said Gwen. “You’re starting up Torchwood again?”

 

“What?”

 

“Shut up, Rhys.”

 

Jack nodded. “There’s been more rift activity than usual. I’m going to try and investigate it myself. I’ve put enough people in danger. I can’t do it to anyone else.”

 

“Rubbish, I’m helping you,” said Gwen, raising a hand to shush Rhys and sitting on the couch next to Jenny.

 

“I’d like to help too,” she added. “Whatever this Torchwood is, it seems like the best way to find my Dad.”

 

“There’s a rift in time and space running through Cardiff,” Gwen explained to her. “Now and then aliens – and people – fall through it. It’s our job to find them and stop them from causing any trouble.”

 

“Sounds like my kind of thing,” Jenny smiled.

 

“The rift energy is perfect for the TARDIS,” Jack added.

 

“What’s the TARDIS?” Jenny queried.

 

“Blue box? Says ‘Police’?”

 

“Oh, that.”

 

“Your Dad comes every so often to refuel. You might be able to catch him, as long as he’s got the right face …”

 

“That settles it. I’m joining.”

 

“Right then, I expect to see you both first thing Monday morning. Thank you for the tea, Gwen. I'm off.” Jack rose from his chair.

 

“Where are you going?” Jenny asked.

 

“London,” he replied, frowning slightly.

 

“Can I come?”

 

“I suppose.”

 

“You can stay with us until you get sorted, all right?” said Gwen, taking their mugs. “Bring her back in one piece, Jack.”

 

He saluted her. “See you around, Rhys. Give my love to Anwen. Come on, Jenny.”


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's just pretend Jack still has the SUV. Okay? (It's entirely possible it was still there after the whole on the run business).

* * *

_Chapter Two_

* * *

 

 

 

“So, where are we going?” Jenny asked, as they climbed into a large black SUV.

 

“13 Bannerman Road,” Jack answered. “Luke and Sky Smith; they’ve just lost their mother. I thought I’d try to help them, since there’s no sign of your Dad. I said they could stay up here for a bit.”

 

“Did she travel with him?” Jenny queried, putting on her seatbelt.

 

“Sarah Jane? Yeah.”

 

“It’d be nice to have a mother,” Jenny murmured, as the engine started.

 

“You don’t have one?” Jack frowned over at her.

 

She shook her head. “I was created by a machine, using my Dad’s DNA. I’m three.”

 

“Three, huh? Well, I don't know how old I am; I’ve lost track. I’m immortal,” he added in, at her confused look.

 

“Seems everyone who’s associated with the Doctor is,” she struggled for the word. “… odd.”

 

He laughed. “Oh, thanks!”

 

“I didn’t mean—” she started to say, quickly.

 

“I know,” he cut across her. “You meant it in a nice way. But I guess you’re right. Is this your first time on Earth?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Well, welcome to the planet. And you have got a mother, by the way.”

 

“Huh?” she glanced over at him, surprised.

 

“Well, a step-mother. River. I met her a few years back. Didn’t believe her when she said she was the Doctor’s wife.”

 

“It’s nice that Dad’s not on his own.”

 

“Yeah, it is,” Jack murmured.

 

Jenny noticed how subdued he seemed, along with the sheer size of the vehicle they were sitting in, and his earlier comment.

 

“What did you mean, you’d put enough people in danger? Who else was there?”

 

“About half a dozen of us,” he replied vaguely, changing gears. He elaborated after a prompting look from Jenny. “Suzie Costello, Toshiko Sato, Owen Harper and …” he trailed off.

 

“And?” Jenny asked.

 

He swallowed, clearly upset by the memory. “… Ianto Jones.”

 

“I’m sorry,” Jenny murmured quickly. “Was he special?”

 

He sighed. “Yeah. Can we just … not talk about it?”

 

“Yes, of course, I’m sorry.”

 

“It’s not your fault. It was mine. I should’ve gotten him out of there,” he sighed heavily. “Nothing I can do about it now.”

 

They reached Bannerman Road, and clambered out of the car. Jack rang the doorbell. A young man, a few inches taller than Jenny, with brown hair, answered it.

 

“Hi, Jack,” he said, with a smile that was obviously forced. “Thanks for this.”

 

“No problem. Are you ready?”

 

“I am. Sky’s still packing a few things.”

 

“Right,” said Jack. “I’ll go upstairs and talk to Mr Smith. You two can … become acquainted.”

 

And he disappeared up the stairs.

 

“Hi, I’m Jenny,” she said, offering a hand.

 

“Luke,” he shook her hand. “Nice to meet you, Jenny.”

 

“I’m sorry about your Mum,” she said, as they went into the kitchen.

 

“It’s not your fault; could’ve happened to anyone.”

 

“Yeah,” she agreed, sitting down. “I didn’t know your Mum; I wish I’d met her. My Dad did, though.”

 

Luke raised his eyebrows in an ‘ _oh?_ ’ sort of way. “Who is your Dad?”

 

“The Doctor.”

 

This surprised him. “I didn’t know he had kids. Wait, you’re—”

 

“—an alien, yes.”

 

“Hmm. So am I. Well, I think I am. I’m not a normal human, anyway.”

 

The door eased open and a head of light-brown hair popped in. “There's a man upstairs talking to Mr Smith,” a girl informed them. “He says his name is Jack. Is that who's going to take us to a different country?"

 

“It’s just Cardiff, not really a different country,” said Luke, as the girl, who looked no older than twelve, and very much like Luke, stepped into the room. “Technically a different country, but it's just Wales, it’s still part of Britain. This is Jenny. She’s the Doctor’s daughter. Remember Mum talking about him?”

 

Sky's eyes lit up. “Oh! I didn’t know he had a daughter. Hi Jenny, I’m Sky.”

 

“My sister,” Luke added.

 

“Yeah, I thought so,” Jenny nodded. “You look very alike.”

 

This made Luke laugh. “We’re actually not related. We were both adopted.”

 

“Oh. That’s surprising.”

 

“Where is your Dad?” Sky asked.

 

“I don’t know. I’m trying to find him.”

“Why are you with Jack?” he asked curiously. “Are you working for Torchwood or something?”

 

“As of Monday, yes.”

 

“What’s Torchwood?” Sky questioned, looking between the two of them.

 

“They fight aliens.”

 

“Or help them, depending on the alien,” Jenny added in at Sky’s panicked look.

 

“So, you won’t hurt me?”

 

“I wouldn’t dream of it. I’m an alien too.”

 

“Really? I’m Flesh-Kind. What are you?”

 

“Time Lord … or Lady,” she said. “I’ve got two hearts.”

 

“I just have one. Over here,” she pointed to the right side of her chest.

 

“I could join Torchwood.”

 

“Excuse me?”

 

“It’d be something to do while I’m in Cardiff,” said Luke, as an explanation of his sudden thought.

 

“If you want, I suppose,” said Jenny slowly. “It’s down to Jack, really.”

 

The doorbell rang. Sky went off to answer the door, returning several minutes later with two people who looked around Luke’s age; a young black man and a young woman with slightly lighter skin.

 

“Hi. We came to send you off,” the young woman said. “Maria couldn’t come, she said she’d call you tonight. It is today you’re going isn't it? Because otherwise the car outside … oh, hello,” she said, only then noticing Jenny.

 

“This is Jenny, the Doctor’s Daughter. Jenny, meet Clani.”

 

She sighed as she and her friend sat down. “I told you to stop calling us that.”

 

“But you’re together now.”

 

“So?”

 

“It makes more sense.”

 

“No, it doesn't,” she rolled her eyes. Turning to Jenny, she offered a hand, which Jenny shook. “Rani Chandra. And these, unfortunately, are my best friend and my boyfriend.”

 

“Clyde Langer.”

 

“Hi,” Jenny shook his hand, too.

 

“Are you really the Doctor’s daughter?” Rani asked, studying her face as though trying to pick out similarities.

 

Jenny nodded.

 

“I didn’t know he had a daughter. He never mentioned it to me.”

 

“Or me,” Clyde chimed in.

 

“I wasn’t there the last time you met him …”

 

“Well, he thinks I’m dead,” Jenny explained. “Maybe it hurts to talk about me. And who would even say, ‘ _Did I mention, I’ve got a daughter who’s dead?_ ’?”

 

“Fair point,” Luke nodded.

 

“We could have met him before Jenny was born, though,” said Rani. “He has the TARDIS, he can travel through time.”

 

“He changed his face though, we could tell by that!” Clyde suggested. “Jenny, what did he look like when you met him?”

 

“Well—”

 

“No, hang on,” he said, rummaging through a rucksack he’d brought with him, and emerging with three sketchbooks. He flipped through them. Evidently finding what he was looking for, he pushed two sketchbooks towards her, one of them open on a drawing of her father (with great likeness; Clyde was a good artist), the other on a drawing of a man she didn’t recognise.

 

“Which did he look like?”

 

“This one,” she answered, pushing the sketchbook back towards Clyde. “He looks like that. Who’s that?”

 

“The same man. The Doctor. He can change his face.”

 

“So … he’s regenerated?”

 

“Looks that way,” said Luke. “Mum said he was travelling with a married couple, Amy and Rory Pond. You could look them up.”

 

“Yeah, good idea …”

 

“Are you two ready to go?”

 

“Yeah,” said Sky, leaving the kitchen and reappearing with a duffel bag.

 

“I was thinking, we could go to Martha’s. She lives just a bit away with her husband, Mickey …”

 

“That sounds like a good idea.”

 

“Take care of yourselves, ok?” Rani asked, as she, and then Clyde, hugged Luke and Sky.

 

“And come back soon. Cardiff seems a long way off.”

 

“We’ll be back before you know it,” Sky promised.

 

“You can keep this,” Clyde ripped out the picture of her father as, it seemed, he was now, handing it to Jenny. “It’ll help you if you do find him. Good luck with that, by the way.”

 

“Thanks,” smiled Jenny, folding up the drawing and slipping it into her pocket.

 

“All right, let's go.”

 

“We’ll lock up,” said Rani, as they left, Luke picking up a bag that was lying by the front door.

 

“Bye!”

 

The door slammed shut.

 

The drive to where Martha and Mickey lived was a short one, and, soon, the SUV pulled up outside number seven of a street of terraced houses.

 

“Go on.”

 

Doubtful, Jenny released herself from her seatbelt and jumped from the vehicle, walking up to the door and ringing the doorbell.

 

The door was opened by Martha, who, in Jenny’s eyes, had not changed a bit.

 

“Hell—” she faltered, realising who it was, and her “…o” trailed into nothingness. She stared at Jenny, before firmly closing her eyes and opening them again.

 

“Yes, it really is me, and I’m not dead," said Jenny with a small smile. “Can I come in?”

 

“Yeah, sure … but – _how_?”

 

“I don’t know,” she said truthfully. “I woke up after you were gone. No wound.”

 

“Hmm,” Martha murmured, walking down the hall to the living room. “I suppose you’re here for the number.”

 

“Yeah, Jack told me you’d have it.”

 

“Jack. Of course he’s involved,” her eyes narrowed. “Did he flirt with you?”

 

“No.”

 

“Oh, that’s strange. Would you like some tea?”

 

“No thanks,” Jenny shook her head. “I just had some.”

 

“Okay,” they sat down. “So, what happened to you?”

 

“I was travelling,” she smiled. “Like my Dad. I loved it, but I couldn’t find him anywhere.”

“Well, I’ll try to call him, but I can’t promise anything. He hasn’t picked up lately …”

 

She pulled out a mobile phone, flipped it open and pressed it to her ear.

 

“… No answer," Martha sighed. “Doctor, it’s Martha. Again. Get back to Earth now. Your daughter’s still alive. She’s looking for you.” She closed her phone, pocketing it. “I’ll give you the number. Just give me a sec …”

 

She rose from her chair, searching for a pen and a piece of paper. There was a knock on the door, before it opened, revealing Luke.

 

“Just wondering if you were all right. Jack wants to go soon.”

 

“Yeah, Martha’s just writing down a number for me.”

 

“Okay,” said Luke, closing the door out again.

 

“Here,” said Martha, re-entering the room with a piece of torn paper with a series of digits scrawled in red pen. “Mine’s on there too.”

 

“Okay, thanks Martha,” she said, standing up and taking the number from her. “I’ve got to go now. Tell Mickey I said hi and I’d like to meet him some time. See you soon, okay? Bye.”

 

She left the house, climbing back into the passenger side of the SUV.

 

“No answer?” Jack asked. Jenny shook her head. “Did she give you the number?”

 

“Yeah, I’ll try it again when we get back,” she said, putting on her seatbelt and looking over her

shoulder at the other two. “Where are you two going to stay?”

 

Luke shrugged. “A hotel, I guess.”

 

“Great idea. Inviting them up when you don’t even have anywhere to stay.”

 

Jack made a face at her. “Gwen’ll put you up if you ask nicely when Rhys isn’t around.”

 

“Has she got the room to put the three of us up?” Jenny asked.

 

“I don’t know. One of you might have to take the sofa.”

 

“I'll do it,” said Luke and Jenny at the same time, turning to look at each other.

 

“No, I’ll do it,” Jenny said. “I don’t sleep much. Time Lord.”

 

“Shouldn’t that be ‘Lady’?” Jack asked. “It doesn’t really sound right.”

 

“All right. I don’t sleep much. Time Lady.”

 

“Are you sure? I don’t mind?”

 

Jenny rolled her eyes. “You don’t have to be a gentleman, you’ve lost your mother.”

 

“Yeah, thanks for the reminder,” he said, but he didn’t seem too upset. On the contrary, on the way back to Cardiff, Jack put on the radio and they all sang along to it, laughing.

 

“My god, we're terrible!” Jenny exclaimed through her laughter. “We’d be the worst band _ever!_ ”

 

“I have no intention of starting a band,” Jack chuckled. “Here we are. Good luck. Monday morning,” he pointed between Luke and Jenny, evidently Luke had talked to him about joining Torchwood. “Cheer up, Sky.”

 

The girl nodded, clutching her duffel bag tightly as she followed Luke out of the car.

 

Jenny rang the doorbell, and it was Gwen who answered the door.

 

“Jenny. Good, you’re back … who’s this?”

 

“I’m Luke Smith, this is my sister, Sky.”

 

“They’re Sarah Jane’s kids!” Jack chimed in from the safety of the SUV. “They’ve got nowhere else to go! Luke’s joining Torchwood!”

 

Gwen sighed heavily. “All right, you can stay. As long as you promise to pull your wages together to get a flat or something …”

 

“All right.”

 

“Come in, then. I’m making dinner.”

 

They followed her down the hall and into the living room. “We’ve got two beds to spare, one of you is gonna have to take the couch for now …”

 

“Right,” said Jenny. “I’ll take the couch.”

 

“Okay,” said Sky, plopping down on the couch with her duffel bag. Luke and Jenny sat on either

side of her. “What am I going to do?”

 

“I guess you could come with us … it’d be safe in the hub …”

 

“Well, if the pterodactyl’s dead, it will be,” said Gwen.

 

“What’s a pterodactyl?”

 

“They look like those flying dinosaurs,” said Jenny. “They appear when a fixed point in time is broken, to balance the universe. You’ve got one?”

 

“Used to, I think,” replied Gwen. “How do you know about them?”

 

“I went to Darillium – it’s a lovely planet. There’s these singing towers and all sorts live there. A time agent altered a fixed point in time. I tried to protect the people from the pterodactyls while she sorted it out.”

 

“Sounds fun.”

 

“It wasn’t, really.”

 

“Okay,” Gwen tossed the remote to Luke, who caught it deftly. “Watch some TV. I’ll make dinner.”

 

“Is that your daughter?” Sky asked curiously, gesturing to the kitchen, where Anwen was sitting in a high chair.

 

“Yes,” said Gwen, going into the kitchen. “Her name’s Anwen.”

 

Jenny, who was interested in what television on Earth would look like, took the remote from Luke and flipped through the channels, watching bits of everything in fascination.

 

“Dinner’s ready!” Gwen yelled after a time, adding, “I hope I made enough,” in a lower voice, as Jenny, Luke and Sky sat at the table.

 

“What’s going on?” Rhys asked, walking in on the scene.

 

“This is my husband, Rhys,” said Gwen. “Rhys, this is Luke and Sky Smith. They’ve lost their mother, Sarah Jane. She used to travel with this Doctor of Jack’s. Remember I told you about him …?”

 

“He’s my Dad,” Jenny added helpfully.

 

Rhys merely shook his head, sitting at the table.

 

“So, Luke, Sky. You’re from London?”

 

“Ealing,” nodded Luke. “But I’ve been studying at Oxford. Out for the summer, now, obviously …”

 

He fiddled with a whistle tied around his neck.

 

“What’s that?” Jenny questioned, gesturing to it with her fork.

 

“A dog whistle. The Doctor gave Mum a robot dog, K9. He’s at home at the moment. I’m wondering if I should send him a message.”

 

“How would he hear you?”

 

“The TARDIS made him,” Luke shrugged, as if that explained it.

 

“So, you think my Dad looks different?”

 

“He can travel through time. It could be any version of him. But when Mum, Clyde and Rani met him last he looked different, yeah.”

 

“He’s changed a lot,” murmured Jenny, pulling out and unfolding the drawing Clyde had given her. She wondered if her father’s personality had at all changed with his regeneration. She wondered what he’d think of her now.


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With this chapter starts the epic (not really) friendship between Jenny and Luke and Sky

* * *

_Chapter Three_

* * *

 

 

 

Jenny couldn’t sleep. She was not surprised; she’d slept through the previous three nights, and she was now in an unfamiliar environment. She lay on the sofa, under a fluffy throw Gwen had dug out and given to her, watching the sky get lighter through a gap in the curtains. She pulled the picture of her father Clyde had given her from under the cushion she was leaning her head on. She had written the number on the back, not trusting herself to hang on to the little scrap of paper she had been given by Martha.

 

She sat up suddenly, hearing soft footsteps. The light was switched on, low, so as not to disturb anyone.

 

“Hello?” she asked softly.

 

Luke appeared, wearing what she supposed were his pyjamas – a t-shirt a pair of boxers.

 

“Sorry,” he said quickly. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

 

“It’s all right, you didn’t. I don’t sleep much, remember?” she moved her legs slightly, allowing him to sit on the end of the sofa. He did so, sighing slightly.

 

“What’s up?”

 

“Nightmares.”

 

“Oh,” she said. “I’m sorry.”

 

“No, it’s okay. I get them every so often. Memories, you know. There has to be a drawback to remembering everything I see. This is it.”

 

She sat up, watching him carefully. “And it’s got nothing to do with your Mum dying?”

 

“No,” he said.

 

She shot him a sceptical look.

 

“Yes … I don’t know. I’ve always had nightmares, but Mum is in them a lot more now.”

 

“You miss her.”

 

“Of course. All the time. If it hadn’t been for her, who knows where I’d be now. Where Sky would be now. But I know she wouldn’t want me to … dwell on it or anything. I’ve got Sky, and Clyde and Rani and Maria.”

 

“Rani mentioned her,” she murmured. “Who is she?”

 

“My friend. She used to help me and Mum and Clyde with the aliens before we met Rani. She moved and then Rani moved into her old house.”

 

“She sounds nice,” Jenny paused, considering him. “Is she _just_ a friend?”

 

“Yeah, why would you—?”

 

“I spent a year living on a planet called Adria, with a family of Aplans. They’re lovely people; got two heads. Their neighbours were humans. I liked to watch them. I didn’t get too close – it was a human who killed me – well, tried to, since I’m not actually dead. But I _was_ dead. It’s all very confusing. Anyway, it was the first time I’d met humans in a while, but I know all about them now. I know what they do; how they’re the same as me and different from me. You can’t be much different, no matter how you were born. And you look like you’re in love.”

 

“Maybe you’re right.”

 

“Of course I’m right. I’m going to make some tea. Do you want some?”

 

“Yeah, okay.”

 

She stood up, taking her blanket with her, as it was a cocoon of warmth. She switched on the light, hoping she wouldn’t wake anyone, boiling the kettle and finding the mugs easily enough.

 

“Won’t you miss it?”

 

She turned to look at Luke, who was standing in the doorway. “Miss what?”

 

“The travelling.”

 

She contemplated the question for a moment. “I don’t think so. I did have a long pit stop on Adria. At least there’s still aliens here.”

 

“Plenty of those.”

 

“Where does Gwen keep her teabags?”

 

“Top shelf, that cupboard there,” said Luke helpfully, pointing.

 

“How do you remember all this?” she asked, finding the box of teabags exactly where he had indicated.

 

“Photographic memory, I think it’s called. I remember everything I see, like I said. Part of who I am. I never get sick either.”

 

“Neither do I. Well, I haven’t yet, anyway. I think I’m going to get freaked out very quickly by this memory of yours.”

 

He shrugged. “You’ll get used to it.”

 

“I suppose. Do you take sugar?”

 

“No.”

 

“How much milk?”

 

“Just a splash.”

 

She poured out the tea and handed him his mug. The two of them returned to the living room, Jenny switching off the light as she went. They sat on the couch, drinking the tea in the semi-darkness. Jenny sacrificed some of her blanket for Luke, and they told each other of the adventures they’d had; the aliens they’d defeated; the people they’d met and helped.

 

“This is nice,” said Jenny.

 

“What? The midnight feast? Without the food?”

 

“No, just talking. I like you, I hope we can be friends.”

 

He offered a hand. “Friends?”

 

“Friends,” she echoed with a smile, shaking his hand.

 

They sat together in silence until Sky appeared in the doorway, in a dressing gown that was slightly too big for her.

 

“Hey, Sky,” said Jenny, patting the sofa beside her. Sky sat between the two of them. As she crossed the room, the light flickered and grew brighter.

 

“Sorry,” she said quickly.

 

“It’s okay.”

 

“That was you?” asked Jenny curiously.

 

“Yeah, sorry,” she repeated.

 

“She used to be a bomb,” Luke explained.

 

“How the hell did Sarah Jane find you?”

 

“I was left on her doorstep as a baby,” replied Sky brightly.

 

“Aren’t you lot _normal_.”

 

“You can talk. Counted your hearts lately?”

 

“Hit him for me, will you Sky?”

 

She thumped her brother's shoulder half-heartedly. He blanched, clutching his shoulder and

pretending he was in great pain. Sky giggled.

 

“What are you lot doing up?” a sleepy Welsh voice demanded, as Gwen appeared in the

 

“I don’t sleep much, Luke has nightmares and I don’t know about Sky,” said Jenny chirpily.

 

“Good morning,” Sky added with a grin.

 

“You are the strangest lodgers ever. Speaking of which, I’d better get some bit of your wages.”

 

“I thought we were meant to use them to get a flat.”

 

“You can do that with—” Gwen trailed off, sighing as the sound of a crying child rang through the air. “Great. Everyone’s up.”

 

She disappeared down the hall again.

 

“I should probably make her coffee or something …” said Jenny.

 

“Why?”

 

“Well, it seems like we woke her up.”

 

“It was probably my fault,” Sky stood up. “I’ll make it.”

 

She was in the kitchen before either of them could do anything. The light came on by itself.

 

Jenny shook her head. “She’s impossible.”

 

“You got that right. But she means well.”

 

“Yeah, I know.”

 

* * *

 

 

The week passed in a blur. Jenny bonded with Luke and Sky, and even got talking to Rhys, finding that he was not so bad. The three of them vowed to keep it down in the future (both the noise and the lights). Because of his nightmares, it seemed, Luke delayed going to bed as much as he could, preferring to sit with Jenny and talk in hushed tones. Despite her protests, he had made a deal with her; whenever she was tired, she would take the bed, whenever she wasn’t, he would sit with her until he had decided he could not put off going to bed himself any longer. Sky, who, it turned out, wreaked havoc with the electricity when she couldn’t sleep, and had to get up, sometimes joined them, and when both Luke and Jenny were tired, volunteered to take the sofa.

 

On Sunday night, none of the three of them could sleep. They sat in a triangle on the living room floor, lit by a candle rather than the light, since Sky did not trust herself, under a sort of tent of blankets, which Sky had made. The played truth or dare where everything had to be truth, since they could not make too much noise. Both Jenny and Sky were fascinated by such a game, since they had never heard of it before, but they soon grew bored.

 

“Have you got any other games?” Jenny asked quietly, after they’d had her recall the eventful day of her ‘birth’ and ‘death’.

 

“Not really,” Luke murmured in response. “We should probably try and get to sleep anyway.”

As if to prove his point, Sky gave a large yawn, and Jenny’s phone (an old one Gwen had given her to try and call her father on) buzzed in her pocket.

 

“ _Sky,_ ” she chided quietly, pulling it out and switching it back on.

 

“Sorry,” the young girl muttered quickly, yawning again, this time stifled behind her hand, and ducking out from under their sort-of-tent.

 

Jenny stood up, taking the blankets with her, and made herself her usual bed on the sofa. Luke and Sky bade a quiet, sleepy goodnight and headed off down the hall, careful that their footsteps were cat-like.

 

Jenny settled herself into her makeshift bed, staring at the starry sky through the gap in the curtains. She wondered where her father was now, and why he wasn’t answering his phone. She checked her own yet again.

 

_All Logs_

_Missed Calls (0)_

_Received Calls (2)_

_Dialled Calls (5)_

 

Sighing, she shoved the phone under her cushion and feel asleep.

 

The next thing she knew, there was a sudden brightness, and a cheery voice called, “Big day!”

 

Jenny stared groggily up at Gwen, who was smiling at her, evidently having just opened the curtains. “I made coffee. Come on, get up.”

 

“Morning,” Sky murmured sleepily, slouching through to the kitchen with a yawn. Looking through, Jenny saw Rhys eating toast, Luke reviving over a cup of coffee, and Anwen squishing a banana into nothingness in her high chair. She sat up, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and reaching for her phone.

 

_One Missed Call_

_Show?_

 

Her hearts leapt.

 

_From Martha_

 

She sighed heavily, but smiled nevertheless, ringing her voicemail.

 

“ _Hi,_ ” came Martha's cheery, slightly hesitant, voice. “ _Sorry for calling so early, but since you didn’t pick up, I probably didn’t wake you up anyway. I just wanted to wish you luck for your first day. I know how Torchwood can be, but with your travelling you should be okay. Tell me how you got on, won't you? Chat you later._ ”

 

She stood up, crossing over to the kitchen and sitting down, accepting a mug of coffee and taking a slice of toast from the large stack in the middle of the table.

 

“Let me guess,” said Gwen, surveying Luke, Jenny and Sky amusedly over her coffee. “You lot were so excited that you couldn’t sleep last night.”

 

“Pretty much, yeah,” said Jenny. “Can you pass the sugar?”

 

Rhys pushed the sugar bowl over to her, and she stirred two teaspoons into her coffee.

 

“We probably won’t go anywhere …” said Gwen thoughtfully. “My first day wasn’t _too_ hectic, if I compare it to the rest of it … you’ll be all right.”

 

There was silence after Gwen’s slightly confusing speech, and, after they’d finished their breakfast, Jenny went off to get changed. Gwen had lent her clothes for now, and had promised to let her use her wages to buy herself new clothes before she put the rest of it in a

jam jar with a clumsy label reading, ‘flat’.

 

They piled into Gwen’s car, since they were running too late to walk, Luke sitting in the front, Jenny and Sky in the back.

 

“Ready?” he asked, looking back at the two girls.

 

“Ready,” Jenny echoed.

 

“Ready,” Sky chimed in.

 

“Let’s go, then.”


	4. Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I, being the extremely lazy person that I am, wanted the Torchwood Hub to be pretty much exactly the same as it was in Series 1 and 2. Call it Jack being sentimental, if you like.

* * *

_Chapter Four_

* * *

 

 

 

“Are you okay?”

 

“What?” she looked up, only then noticing that Luke was sitting on the other end of the battered sofa. “Yeah, I’m fine …”

 

Jenny closed her hand around the phone, which she had just checked for what felt like the hundredth time that day.

 

“Is this about your dad?” Luke guessed shrewdly.

 

She sighed, turning slightly so that she was facing him. “I’ve left him half a dozen messages; he still hasn’t called back.”

 

“Give him time,” Luke implored. “My mum waited ages for him, but he did come back.”

 

“I don’t want to wait that long …” she sighed again, fixing her gaze on the large ‘TORCHWOOD’ painted in black letters behind her, avoiding Luke’s eye. “He should come back, right? He knows Jack, and there's aliens here ...”

 

“He’s never turned up before … according to Gwen, at least … but I’m sure he will,” he added in.

 

They sat in silence for several moments, which was broken by Luke.

 

“Here, catch,” he said suddenly, tossing a small tube of lipstick to her, despite his close proximity. “This used to belong to my mum. I’ve got no use for it. You have it; it might cheer you up.”

 

She caught it, examining it, puzzled. “I don’t wear lipstick. What would I want with this?” then, realising she was being rude, she opened her mouth to apologise. Luke, however, was smiling.

 

“Sonic lipstick,” he said. She glanced at him.

 

“Like Dad’s screwdriver?”?

 

“Exactly.”

 

Surprising herself – and Luke too, by the looks of it – she hugged him. “Thank you!”

 

“… You’re welcome …” he looked rather relieved when she released him. “Your dad will turn up, in the end. How about we look for the Ponds?”

 

Jenny merely nodded. They were spending their first day getting used the computers and all of the technology of Torchwood (tomorrow it was how to use a gun, which Jenny was still uneasy about), while Gwen sat with Jack in his office, talking about something and drinking endless cups of tea and coffee. Searching for any trace of someone called Pond would be a perfectly sound way to pass the time. And that was exactly what they did. Jenny sat at the computer that had, for some reason, been designated ‘hers’ (they each had one, and then there was the main one, which was used largely for radar), while Luke and Sky stood at each side of her, peering over her shoulder and giving helpful hints (well, Luke did. Sky merely said, “Mr Smith would be better for this.”)

 

A search on some website called Google led them to another site, this one ‘Facebook’, but they couldn’t get at any of the information of this Amy Pond.

 

“What do I do now?”

 

“Send her a message, or a friend request. But you’d have to make an account of your own for that …”

 

“How?”

 

“You have to make an e-mail address first …”

 

He showed her how to do that, before she returned to the Facebook site.

 

“Don’t say you’re three,” said Sky helpfully, as Jenny typed in her information.

 

“How old should I say I am?” she asked, glancing doubtfully between the two siblings.

 

Luke squinted at her. “Twenty-one or -two.”

 

“When’s your birthday, do you know?” asked Sky.

 

She counted out the days. She’d kept track while she was travelling, but she had never had any reason to give her birthday a second thought. “It was a few days ago, actually,” she pronounced eventually, typing in ‘24 July’. “For you, anyway. Wait, when was twenty-one years ago?”

 

“1991.”

 

She added that.

 

“Now, go back to Amy’s profile page and click on that button there … no, the one that says ‘add as friend’”

 

“What do I do now?”

 

“Wait.”

 

* * *

 

 

 

After a rather uneventful first day at Torchwood, Gwen took the three of them for ice-cream, and Sky showed off a gadget she had been given by Jack. It was a necklace with a blood-red pendant, which appeared to be perfectly harmless, but, with an electrical impulse, which Sky could produce quite easily, it could knock a grown man out cold. Jenny was glad that Jack had armed Sky with something that wasn't lethal. Being handed a gun so early in her life had not done her any good. She had no desire to even touch another gun, but she knew that, with Torchwood, it would be inevitable for her to end up in danger, and at least she would be prepared, if push came to shove.

 

They drove home with all the windows rolled down, soaking up the sunshine, feeling the breeze on their faces.

 

“Dinner in half an hour, hopefully,” said Gwen as she let herself in. “Rhys!”

 

Luke and Jenny slid down the hallway, leaving Sky to watch the television. Jenny sat on the office chair in the tiny study, swivelling around while she waited for the computer to start up. Luke stood behind her, staring at the screen with some interest.

 

She checked her new Facebook account. “Accepted! Yes!” she grinned over her shoulder at Luke, clicking on the profile. An unfamiliar redhead laughed from the picture.

 

“Now look at the personal info …” he reached over for the mouse. “An address, look.”

 

“It’s in London,” she glanced at him. “D’you think Gwen would take us?”

 

“Hang on, I think Rhys might be doing a delivery in London. Write down the address, I’ll go ask him.”

 

And he disappeared.

 

“How do you know this?” she called after him.

 

“I remember everything, remember?” he yelled back.

 

Shaking her head, she found a pen, scrawling the address on the back of the drawing of her father, which she brought with her everywhere, above the phone number.

 

Luke returned moments later, flashing her a smile. “C’mon, we’re going to London.”


	5. Chapter Five

* * *

_Chapter Five_

* * *

 

 

 

“Thought she didn’t sleep,” Rhys muttered, casting a sidelong glance over at Luke and Jenny, the latter who, after a discussion over what they would do if they had found the wrong Amy

Pond, had fallen asleep with her head on her friend’s shoulder, her long blonde hair falling across her face, the (by now slightly tattered) picture of her father clutched tightly in her hand.

 

“She doesn’t, normally,” said Luke, also glancing at the sleeping Time Lady. “But she hasn’t slept much in the past few days. Excited about Torchwood, I suppose.”

 

“It won’t do her any good,” said Rhys suddenly. “Torchwood.”

 

“What’s wrong with it?” he asked in surprise.

 

“Everyone died,” was the blunt answer. “There used to be a lot more of them. They all died. Too young. Gwen was the only one who survived, and that was luck.”

 

“Jenny won’t die. She’s not human. She regenerates. She changes. She’ll keep on doing that, and leave all of us behind,” _just like her father,_ he added mentally. He did not resent her for this. She couldn’t help it, of course. But he remembered how his mother had told him of the Doctor, and how she had so wished for him to return, some day. And he did. But he didn’t even know she was dead, and he certainly hadn’t turned up for her funeral, which he could have easily attended, giving the fact that he possessed a time machine.

 

“She’ll get along with Jack, then,” said Rhys eventually, to break the silence.

 

“Yeah.”

 

Thus ensued another silence, which was eventually broken by Jenny stirring. She yawned as she straightened up, blinking several times before she asked in a sleepy murmur, “Are we nearly there?”

 

“Yeah,” Rhys replied. “Where is it they live again?”

 

She held the slip of paper in her hand out for him to read.

 

“Ten minutes,” he promised.

 

“Good,” she muttered to herself, pulling on the soft fleece she’d been using as a blanket and fixing her gaze determinedly on the road ahead. She would find her father, eventually. She just had to keep looking.

 

Ten minutes later, the pair of young adults (or that was how it appeared), jumped from the lorry, thanking Rhys for the lift and assuring him that they would not be long.

 

“What number?” Luke asked, as the crossed the street.

 

“Uh … six.”

 

“It’s up here,” he pointed. Jenny marched determinedly towards the dark blue door and rang the doorbell, Luke trailing along in her wake.

 

It took a while for the door to open. A woman with long red hair stood in the doorway, looking expectantly between the two of them. When she spoke, it was with what Jenny had by now come to recognise as a Scottish accent.

 

“Who are you?”

 

“I’m Luke, this is Jenny,” said Luke with a smile, before Jenny could even open her mouth. “You’re Amelia Pond, aren’t you?”

 

“Yes,” said the woman slowly, seemingly surprised as to how they knew her name. “Call me Amy … have we met …?”

 

“No, but I think we’ve got a mutual friend,” said Jenny, with a wry smile.

 

Amy nodded, evidently understanding. “Right, come on in, then.”

 

They followed her along a hall and into a bright and roomy kitchen, where a (just opened, by the look of it) bottle of wine and glass were sitting on the kitchen table.

 

“Sit down, would you like a glass?”

 

“Uh …”

 

“No, thank you, neither of us drink,” said Luke politely.

 

Amy made a ‘suit yourself’ face and sat down across from the other two, pouring herself a generous glass of wine and taking a gulp before she spoke again.

 

“Well, what’s your deal, then?”

 

“Sorry?”

 

“How do you know the Doctor?” Amy rephrased. “It doesn’t seem to me like you travelled with him. I supposed you just met him the once and decided to look for him. I know the feeling.”

 

“Well, actually …”

 

“My mother used to travel with him,” said Luke, frowning. “And I’ve met him a few times. Though not the _new_ him. My friends have, though.”

 

“The new him?” Amy repeated, looking puzzled. “Oh, his last regeneration, you mean.”

 

“Yeah,” Luke nodded.

 

Amy turned her eyes on Jenny. “Well?”

 

“He’s my dad,” she said rather quietly.

 

Amy had chosen the wrong moment to take another drink of wine. She choked, and slopped quite a lot of the red liquid down her front. Cursing, she rose to find a cloth. Once she had returned to her seat, and dried up as much of the mess as she could, she stared at Jenny for a full minute before saying, “Are you _serious?_ ”

 

She nodded sagely.

 

“I thought, maybe … when I asked him he definitely avoided the question …” she frowned, and shock spread across her face. “Am I a _grandmother?_ ”

 

“What?” Jenny asked, surprised at this new piece of information. Luke seemed just as taken aback, his mouth slightly open. “You mean you’re River’s _mother?_ ”

 

“Time travel,” Amy waved it away. “She’s not your mother, then?”

 

“No. I was created by a machine. Dad thinks I’m dead, maybe that’s why he never mentioned me. I’ve never met the new him, or River.”

 

“Well, she pops round every so often. I’ll tell her about you … oh …”

 

The sound of a car engine purring broke her off.

 

“My husband, Rory,” she said to Jenny and Luke, just as keys rattled and the front door opened.

 

“… Hello,” said a man with short brown hair, a bag over his shoulder, undoubtedly Rory, standing rather awkwardly in the doorway. Then he said in a loud whisper. “Amy, who are these people and what are they doing in our kitchen?”

 

Jenny laughed, smiling at Rory. “I’m Jenny; this is my friend, Luke.”

 

“Rory. Lovely to meet you. But what exactly are you doing here?”

 

“I’ve been looking for my dad,” she said.

 

Amy smirked and stood from the table. “I’m going to get changed,” she kissed her husband's cheek. “Good luck.”

 

“Good luck with what?” he called uselessly after her, before sighing and pulling his bag from over her shoulder and hanging it up.

 

“How are we supposed to help you find your father?” Rory asked eventually, once he had sat down in Amy’s vacated chair.

 

“He’s the Doctor,” Luke answered this time.

 

“Of course he is.”

 

Rory was taking this much better than Amy had done, at least until he, too, realised the possibility that Jenny could be his granddaughter.

 

“I’m a generated anomaly," she said, before he had even opened his mouth. “A machine created me from the Doctor’s DNA. I got shot, and Dad thinks I’m dead.”

 

“Oh,” said Rory, seemingly unsure what to say next. “So have you met River?”

 

“No, not yet.”

 

“Well, I’m sure she’ll go and visit you when she finds out you exist … where do you live, by the way?”

 

“Cardiff.”

 

“Wales,” he seemed surprised. “You don’t have an accent.”

 

“I’ve only been there for a week and a half.”

 

“Well that explains it, then. Where did you come from?”

 

“Adria.”

 

“Never heard of it. Is it nice?”

 

“Oh, yes, it’s lovely.”

 

They sat in a rather awkward silence for several minutes before Amy returned in a brand new sweater, sitting at the table and grinning at everyone.

 

“So, Luke, tell me about yourself.”

 

* * *

 

 

“Well, they were _nice,_ ” said Jenny, around a half an hour later, when they were back in the lorry with Rhys, Jenny having an extra three numbers on the back of the drawing of her father (Amy and Rory’s mobiles, and their landline), and Luke looking slightly abashed at the interrogation he’d gotten, despite the fact that it was Jenny who was Amy and Rory’s almost-granddaughter.

 

“And just a little overbearing.”

 

“Well, you don’t have to deal with them anymore, if you don’t want to. Provided I can get lifts up and down.”

 

“You could take driving lessons,” Rhys suggested. “As long as you don’t let it slip that you’re three.”

 

“I’m not three, I’m twenty-one!” Jenny said, pretending to be scandalised.

 

“That’s the spirit, kiddo.”

 

She smiled.

 

“Oh lighten up, Luke!” she added, giving him a dig in the ribs with her elbow. “You never have to see the Ponds ever again, how’s that?”

 

“It’s not _them,_ really, it’s just that …”

 

“What?”

 

“They think they’re going to travel with him forever, your dad. Every single one of the people he’s travelled with does. But they never do, and it never ends well. Mum’s dead, Rose is on a parallel world, Martha’s scarred for life and Donna doesn’t remember.”

 

Jenny shot him a look.

 

“It’s like Rhys was saying about Torchwood, when you were asleep. Everyone died, except Gwen. What’s going to happen to us?”

 

“We’ll just have to live every day at a time,” said Jenny eventually. “And whatever happens, happens.”

 

She glanced down at the back of the piece of paper, where Martha’s, Amy’s and Rory’s numbers stared up at her. What was Luke saying? That she would be better off without her father, and these people, in her life? That she should abandon all attempts to find the Doctor, and leave Torchwood? That she should lead a normal life?

 

She glanced at him several times during the journey home, but never caught his eye or talked to him.

 

No, of course he wasn't saying that. He couldn’t be. How could they, of all people, lead normal lives?


	6. Chapter Six

* * *

_Chapter Six_

* * *

 

 

The summer flew by alarmingly fast. Before Jenny even knew what was happening, the start of autumn was almost upon her, a season which Luke had assured both her and Sky, was a beautiful sight to behold, whatever that meant. Gwen and Rhys had become the official guardians of Luke and Sky (merely to prevent questions and anyone discovering that neither of them were human), and the latter had been enrolled into a local school. Their jar had been filled to the brim with coins and the occasional flimsy paper note that, for some reason, qualified as money. Of course, it was not enough for them to buy a flat, or even pay for a deposit on one, but they continued to save nonetheless. Their wages were going on helping Gwen with the bills and buying themselves clothes. The savings for the flat rarely ever came from there, though Jenny had resolved to try and put five pounds in every day. Saving for a laptop appealed to her more, however. Gwen and Rhys’ computer was slow and tedious, and she generally had to wait until someone else had finished using it.

 

Anwen had almost doubled in size, and was now running around the house in dirty white socks, her dark hair flying behind her, often crashing into peoples’ legs, and she often held nonsense conversations with Sky, who seemed to understand her, perhaps it was because she, in actual fact, was so young herself. Luke would soon be returning to Oxford, and was (secretly, for some strange fear of what Jack would say) looking into a career at UNIT once he had finished his education. Jenny knew she would miss him, as he was the first friend she had ever had (perhaps excluding Donna) and Sky had taken to hugging him every time she saw him. He had shown them both how to use the webcam on Gwen and Rhys’ computer, so that they could talk to each other. He had promised to contact them as soon as he had arrived at the university and settled in. And, all the time, they were dealing with more and more dangerous things at Torchwood; so much so that Sky had been left behind three times now, to ‘keep an eye on things’, which she didn’t mind so much, as she spent the time surfing the internet for the silly human things that made her laugh (and destroyed the electrics).

 

Jack had died so many times that Jenny could no longer keep track. It had been an extremely odd experience, the first time it had happened. Gwen had barely batted an eyelid, as she, of course, was by now used to this happening all the time, and she kept her gun trained on the frightened young man who had killed Jack (Jenny suspected that he was under the control of an alien, and was not at fault at all) until he dropped his own weapon. Sky screamed, while Luke reminded her that he wasn’t actually dead. Jenny had almost cried out, before remembering what Jack had told her, the first time they’d met; he was immortal. And, sure enough, after a moment or two, he gave a huge gasp and sat up, perfectly healthy.

 

Now she was curled up on the sofa, the fluffy throw on top of her, watching the television. Everyone was doing something else; Luke and Sky were doing something on the computer; Gwen had gone shopping and taken Anwen with her; and Rhys was doing a delivery in Liverpool, which he would most likely return from in the middle of the night. He and Jenny had bonded over the fact that she was usually still awake by the time he came home. She had taken to making some hot chocolate as soon as she heard the sound of an approaching vehicle, and they sat together, talking, before Rhys went to bed. Tomorrow was her day off, and she was going to spend the day in London with the Ponds, Martha and Mickey. She was extremely nervous at the prospect of introducing them, for some reason. Perhaps because they all knew more about her father than she herself did.

 

Shaking her head, she turned her focus to the television screen. The programme she had been watching was over, replaced by something called _How I Met Your Mother_. It appeared to be the last episode so far. She watched it with mild interest, until Sky emerged from the hallway, sitting down next to her and stealing some of her blanket. She did all of this silently, until she asked, “What are you watching?”

 

“ _How I Met Your Mother,_ ” Jenny replied. “It looks good. What do you want to watch?”

 

“I’ll watch this, it’s okay.”

 

They watched it together, Sky with her head resting on Jenny’s shoulder, shaking with laughter when the jokes sounded.

 

“They seem like a sweet couple,” said Sky, once the credits rolled up. “But I thought he was engaged to that blonde girl …”

 

“Quinn. Yeah, he was. They must have broken up.”

 

“People are funny.”

 

“Aren’t they just.”

 

* * *

 

 

She didn’t sleep much, which was normal, and got up as early as she possibly could, creeping around the house to make herself breakfast, having a shower when she knew that the others would be awake, and leaving the house after several quick goodbyes. She had a half hour before she had to catch her train, and had decided to act on the decision to buy a laptop. She could use it on the train ride to London, which was several hours long and frankly boring. There was no one but a huddle of bleary-eyed staff in the shop when she entered it, and the least sleepy of the lot came to help her, walking through the laptops on display, going through the pros and cons of each one. Eventually, Jenny left the shop with a laptop that had been recommended to her for its portability and speed, in a carry case, with ten minutes to spare until her train.

 

There were very few people waiting at the platform. She sat on her own, awaiting the arrival of the train, nervously checking her pocket to make sure she still had the ticket. She still had not quite got the hang of travelling by train. She preferred the peace and quiet of her own spaceship (the ruins of which were now at Torchwood, and Jack had kindly offered to try and rebuild it, though she knew there was not much hope for it), but she liked trains.

 

She found a seat easily, choosing one with a table and a socket. She unboxed the laptop, freeing the power cord and plugging it in. She was by now used to earth technology, and the laptop was relatively easy to set up. The sun had begun to shine feebly through the window and she was feeling better about the journey ahead.

 

“Excuse me?”

 

Her eyes snapped open. She had not recalled closing them. Her laptop was still ‘initialising’ and the train had begun to move, quickly picking up speed.

 

She looked up to see a woman, with dark red hair that made her think vaguely of Amy’s. She had a kind face, outlined with striking purple lipstick, and a ‘beauty spot’ (as Jenny believed they were called) on her chin. She was wearing a long brown leather jacket. Jenny couldn’t

believe her eyes.

 

She just about refrained herself from asking, “Donna?”, and arranged her feature into what she hoped was a friendly smile. She couldn’t do anything to trigger Donna’s memory. “Yes?”

 

“Would you mind if I sat here?”

 

“No, not at all.”

 

Donna smiled, sitting down across from Jenny. “Thanks. I’m Donna, by the way. Temple-Noble.”

 

“Jenny,” she smiled back.

 

“You got a last name?”

 

“Song,” she said immediately, surprising herself. Well, it was logical; her father didn’t have a name (or at least one he was willing to share) and Song sounded much better than Pond or Cooper or Smith with regards to her name. She could have invented a new name, she supposed. But Song fit.

 

“That’s an unusual name.”

 

“My father’s an unusual man.”

 

Silence lapsed between them.

 

“Where are you headed?” Donna asked eventually.

 

“London. I’m visiting m—some friends of mine. What about you?”

 

“Me? I live in London, so I’m off home. I just came down for some sea air. My husband made me. Shaun. He dotes.” She smiled fondly. “Have you got anyone special?”

 

Jenny shook her head. “Just close friends. I don’t really want a relationship at the moment.”

 

That was what people said, wasn’t it?

 

“Ah, I see. Bad breakup?”

 

After a brief moment’s thought, Jenny nodded, an earned a sympathetic smile in return.

 

“I’ve been there. My fiancé left me for –” she suddenly frowned, and then laughed. “D’you know what, I can’t remember! I must be getting old.”

 

Jenny swallowed, a strange pain wrenching through her gut. She quickly turned her attention to her new laptop.

 

Donna was now leaning her head against the window, staring out the window. Her eyes seemed to glow faintly orange for a moment, or perhaps it was just the early-morning sun.

 

“Tell me about your husband,” Jenny requested.

 

Donna inclined her head slightly so as to get a look at Jenny without moving from the window. “Shaun? All right.”

 

She sat up properly, launching into an explanation of how they had met and what his personality was. Jenny half-listened, smiling as she tapped lightly on the laptop keys, trying to find the Wi-Fi that was apparently present on the train. It was obvious that Donna loved her husband. Jenny was glad that she was happy, even if she couldn’t remember.

 

Jenny frowned at the computer screen. “Wait, you’re a temp, right?”

 

Donna frowned at her. “How d’you know that?”

 

_Dammit_. “Uh … your hands.”

 

“You fancy yourself as some sort of Sherlock, do you?”

 

“I guess so,” she grinned sheepishly, glad that she had wriggled her way out of the situation. Luke had shown her the Sherlock Holmes stories, which she had enjoyed immensely.

 

“All right. Yeah, I am. Doesn’t pay that well, but we get by.”

 

“Could you help me out? It says there’s Wi-Fi on this train, but I can’t find it.”

 

“Give it here.”

 

Jenny slid the laptop across the table, and watched as Donna worked quietly, before looking out the window. They were blurring past countryside now.

 

“There you go,” Donna smiled, after a stretch of time that Jenny couldn’t gauge. She slid the laptop back across the table, the Google homepage staring at her when she looked at the screen.

 

“Thank you. I—”

 

“Don’t mention it,” Donna waved it away. “Word of advice; download Google Chrome.”

 

“... Okay.”

 

Donna smiled at her like she was her favourite niece. Jenny wondered if she remembered her subconsciously, somewhere deep in her mind.

 

She went to Facebook, finding that Luke was online. She clicked on his name, and a box popped up, cursor blinking at her.

 

‘ _Hi_ ’ she typed, after several long seconds.

 

He responded the same, adding a smiley face, quickly followed by ‘ _You on the train?_ ’

 

‘ _Yeah. Sitting across from Donna, if you’d believe it._ ’

 

‘ _Really?_ ’

 

‘ _Yup._ ’

 

‘ _And she really doesn’t remember?_ ’

 

‘ _Not a thing_.’

 

‘ _That sucks._ ’

 

Whatever the cyber version of silence stretched between them. She could hear the people sitting nearby talking amongst themselves, and Donna tapping a painted fingernail against the table absentmindedly, staring out of the window.

 

‘ _Where are you?_ ’ Jenny typed at last.

 

‘ _Torchwood with Sky._ ’

 

‘ _No Jack or Gwen?_ ’

 

‘ _No. They’re looking into a call they got. Space junk that fell through the rift._ ’

 

‘ _Oh._

_Tell Sky I said hi._ ’

 

‘ _Sure thing._

_She says hi back._ ’

 

The conversation slipped away from them after that. Jenny idly searched for stories of things she knew her father had to do with. Newspaper articles popped up, and she read them. They all contained mention of a ‘strange man’ who had refused to give a name. One of them suggested that it had been him who had saved them, without giving away too much. She smiled as she saw the name on the bottom. Sarah Jane Smith. Investigative Journalist.

 

The train slowed to a stop at a station. Jenny couldn’t read the sign for it, so she had no idea where they were. The doors hissed open. Two left the train, and the group of people who had been waiting at the station climbed in. The doors hissed shut again, and the train began to move. Donna sighed, leaning her head against the window for the second time, closing her eyes.

 

Jenny bit back her “are you okay?”, and turned her attention back to her laptop. She had received a message from Jack. She frowned at it, unsure as to why it should be there.

 

‘ _Enjoying your day off?_ ’ it read.

 

After quite a pause, she typed, ‘ _Not particularly._ ’

 

She imagined that he was laughing at that, but the reply was merely, ‘ _Why?_ ’

 

‘ _I’m sitting on a train across from Donna. Trying not to say anything. But she thinks I’m some kind of Sherlock Holmes now because I knew she was a temp._ ’

 

He must have been really laughing by then. ‘ _He would’ve liked you._ ’

 

‘ _He wasn’t real._ ’

 

‘ _Well, yeah. But old ACD would’ve liked you, and that’s the same thing, isn’t it?_ ’

 

‘ _Not really,_ ’ Jenny replied, and left it at that. It had hit her, once again, that Jack was easily as old, if not older, than her father. She started at the screen for several long moments. A new message popped up.

 

‘ _Gotta go. Space junk to find. See ya tomorrow._ ’

 

‘ _Bye._ ’

 

She was extremely surprised by it all. Jack had just used one of his high tech, possibly alien, gadgets to talk to her on Facebook. How could she even begin to wrap her head around that? Perhaps Gwen had put him up to it. That, at least, made sense.

 

She looked up instinctively to see Donna open her eyes. They were definitely glowing orange now; it couldn't be a trick of the light.

 

“Are you okay?” she voiced her earlier question.

 

“My head,” said Donna, shaking it a little. “I get pretty bad headaches, that’s all.”

 

Her eyes were back to their normal blue now. She smiled faintly.

 

“How long have you had them for?” Jenny asked conversationally.

 

“A few years now. They started up all of a sudden.”

 

“That’s strange.”

 

“I know. They’re manageable, though. It’s okay.”

 

“That’s good, then.”

 

Donna nodded.

 

The remainder of the journey was spent in silence. At some point, Donna fell asleep, her head pressed against the window. Jenny remained online, finding things to do to busy herself.

 

At two o’clock by the time in the bottom right corner of the laptop, the train pulled into the station in London. Jenny packed away her laptop in the carry bag that had come with it, and shook Donna gently awake, leaving before she got a chance to say goodbye.

 

She was the first to arrive at the café, which was called ‘Kaffeine’, and chose a cosy seat by the window where the others could see her easily. Her nerves surfaced again at the prospect of introducing two of the couples that had travelled on the TARDIS to each other. She was assuming – hoping – that they would get along, and didn’t know what she would do if they didn’t.


	7. Chapter Seven

* * *

 

_Chapter Seven_

* * *

 

 

It had started to rain by the time that Jenny decided she was not going to wait patiently. She stood, draping her jacket over the back of the chair so as to prevent the table from being stolen, and ordered a hot chocolate.

 

“Cream and marshmallows?”

 

“Huh?” Jenny looked back from the chalkboard she had been studying, ponytail whipping around.

 

“Would you like cream and marshmallows? With your hot chocolate?” the young woman – Lisa, so her nametag said – asked, smiling slightly.

 

“Yes please,” she replied, smiling back. She drummed her fingers against the counter this time.

 

“Short attention span?” Lisa asked conversationally.

 

“This is only my second time in London. Everything’s so interesting.”

 

The young woman chuckled. “I don’t know about that, now. Are you meeting someone here?”

 

She frowned. “How did you know?”

 

“People often are. Who are you meeting?”

 

“Some friends,” she said, deciding it was best not to elaborate. “Thank you,” she added, as her hot chocolate was set in front of her. She picked up the paper napkin, frowning at it.

 

“What’s this?”

 

“The Wi-Fi password,” Lisa replied. “Free Wi-Fi for all customers.”

 

“Why not just write it somewhere it can be seen?”

 

“That’s a little girl’s job, writing the password onto napkins. She’s the bosses’ niece. Parents want to get her out of the house; you know the way. That’s two pounds, by the way.”

 

Jenny handed over the change and returned to her table, contemplating whether or not to open her laptop. She settled for stirring her hot chocolate until the marshmallows dissolved.

Just as she was taking a sip, she saw a familiar head of red hair outside the cafe. Amy was standing there, under an umbrella, most likely waiting for Rory. Sure enough, he appeared not long after, and, after greeting each other with a brief kiss, they entered together, Rory shaking droplets of water out of his hair.

 

“Hey,” Amy smiled, sitting at the table while Rory went to order for them. “Sorry about that; had to wait for Rory to get off work. There was a boy who got his foot caught in a toilet, if you can believe that.”

 

Jenny snorted, taking a drink of her hot chocolate.

 

“So how are you? How’s Torchwood?”

 

“Good,” she replied, fingers drumming absently as she smiled at her ... whatever she was. Step grandmother? “I’ve settled in. Luke’s going back to Oxford, so I don’t know how that’s going to change things. Maybe Jack will hire someone else … anyway, how are you two? What job have you got now?”

 

“Model,” Amy replied. “I can’t settle – I don’t know why.”

 

“You should try UNIT if you want alien involvement.”

 

“No thank you …”

 

“You got me a muffin?” Jenny frowned, as Rory set one in front of her.

 

“Yep,” he smiled. “Gesture of kindness and goodwill … or whatever. I hope you like blueberry.”

 

“I do. Thank you.”

 

“No problem.”

 

“Oh look, there they are!” Jenny exclaimed after a minute, as the dark-skinned couple entered the cafe. They made their way over to the table, smiling as introductions were made.

 

“Amy and Rory, meet Martha and Mickey. And vice versa.”

 

“So, he’s regenerated?” asked Mickey conversationally, as he sat down and Martha went to order.

 

“Yes,” Jenny answered. “You met him two regenerations ago, didn’t you?”

 

“Yeah,” Mickey grinned. “He had huge ears.”

 

“He has a funny chin now,” said Amy, stealing a piece of Jenny’s muffin.

 

“Hey!”

 

“Sorry,” she held up her hands in surrender.

 

Martha returned with two cups of coffee and a scone, and they talked about the things they had in common; visiting different planets and time periods. Jenny picked at her muffin with interest.

 

“I went to New York _and_ New New York,” said Martha with a laugh. “Beat that.”

 

“We’ve only been to Utah,” said Amy. “I should ask if we could go; it’d be fun. But, knowing the TARDIS, we’d probably end up in Finland or something …”

 

“Probably.”

 

They laughed.

 

How’s Gwen these days?” asked Martha, taking a sip of coffee.

 

“She’s good,” Jenny nodded. “She has a daughter, Anwen. She’s one now.”

 

“I didn’t know …” Martha murmured, sounding guilty at the fact. “What about Jack? Is he behaving?”

 

“Yes, actually,” Jenny shrugged, surprised at the fact, from what she’d heard. “Gwen’s keeping him in check, I think.”

 

“Sounds about right. I’m definitely coming to visit. Tell Jack to watch out.”

 

Jenny smiled. “I will.”

 

“How did you two meet the Doctor?” asked Rory curiously.

 

“I was training to be a doctor—”

 

“When, all of a sudden, the hospital was transported to the moon,” Mickey cut in dramatically. Martha hit him on the arm.

 

“Ow!” he protested. “What was that for?”

 

“It’s my story; wait your turn.”

 

Jenny tried to hide her smile at the bickering couple. She could see how the Doctor had liked them. All four of them.

 

“Then I met a quite unusual patient called John Smith,” Martha continued. “Who happened to have two hearts.”

 

“I wonder who that could have been,” said Amy, grinning.

 

“Then, it started to rain, upside-down, and we ended up on the moon. I met the Doctor, properly. We saved everyone; went back to Earth, the usual. I went with him. It was only supposed to be one trip, but it ended up being a lot more than that. I left the TARDIS. But we met again. Twice. Once, when the Sontarans were planning an attack on the earth. We went to Messaline straight after that,” she nodded towards Jenny. “And again when the Earth was taken by the Daleks. I met Mickey then.”

 

“Yup,” he smiled, setting down his coffee cup. “My story isn’t as great, so don’t get your hopes up. The Doctor was more interested in Rose than me. I was just Mickey the idiot. She first met him when the dummies in the shop where she worked came to life. She travelled with him. I went with them, after a while. I ended up on a parallel world. After the Daleks, I came back here. Joined UNIT. Got married.”

 

Amy smiled at the tales. “Well, if you don’t mind me butting in, I first met the Doctor when I was a little girl. He crashed in my back garden, wreaked havoc in my house and left again, saying he’d be back in five minutes.”

 

“Let me guess,” said Mickey, with a wry smile. “He wasn’t.”

 

“Nope.”

 

“Twelve _years_ ,” said Rory, sounding like a long-suffering war veteran. “You have no idea. But, we had a link to him with us, we just didn’t know.”

 

“What link?” frowned Martha.

 

“My best friend, Mels, turned out to be my daughter, who hadn’t been born yet,” said Amy.

 

“Seriously?”

 

“It gets worse,” said Rory. “She’s part Time Lord.”

 

“Regenerated twice,” Amy nodded.

 

“And she’s married to the Doctor.”

 

“My _son-in-law_ is my childhood imaginary friend, who’s God knows how many hundred years older than me.”

 

“You win.”

 

* * *

 

 

“How did it go in London?” asked Sky, handing Jenny a mug of coffee and sitting on the sofa next to her.

 

“Good,” Jenny replied, taking a sip of the drink and calling her thanks to Gwen, who had made it in the first place, as soon as Jenny had walked through the door. “They get along. I can see why my dad liked them all.”

 

“Luke’s leaving on Sunday,” Sky murmured absently, almost to herself. Jenny bit back a sigh.

 

“It’ll be okay,” she encouraged, nudging the younger girl’s shoulder with her own, carefully, so as not to spill any coffee. “You’ve still got me, huh? Or are you implying that you don’t like me as much?”

 

She gained a giggle for her trouble, which was something, at least. “Where _is_ Luke?”

 

“He went for a walk,” Gwen answered helpfully from the kitchen, where she was doing the dishes. “Took Anwen with him, so I’m not complaining.”

 

“You know,” said Jenny. “As fascinating as a blank TV screen is, what do you say we put something on?”

 

“That might be a good idea,” Sky smiled. “There’s a DVD I saw, can we watch that?”

 

“Sure, what’s it called?” asked Jenny, getting up to switch on the television, leaving her mug safely on the floor.

 

“ _Stardust._ ”

 

She flipped through the pile of DVDs stored under the television, locating the one which Sky was referring to and popping it into the DVD player.

 

“Looks interesting,” she remarked, curling up on the sofa again with her coffee, passing Sky the remote.

 

“That’s why I wanted to watch it.”

 

They sat in silence, focusing on the screen, until Sky spoke.

 

“You’re very like Yvaine, you know.”

 

“Am I?” asked Jenny, surprised.

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Thanks, I guess,” she smiled, watching the rest of the movie, and trying not to admit that something about Sky’s statement warmed her insides. Was it perhaps that the woman from a foreign land had found a home on Earth? In a castle, no less. Or was it that, if she were to be compared to Yvaine, there was a Tristan out there somewhere, searching for her?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The ending is weird, but anyway.  
> I love Stardust, and recommend it to anyway who hasn't seen it yet.


	8. Chapter Eight

* * *

_Chapter Eight_

* * *

 

 

 

“How does it feel to be going back?” Jenny asked curiously, from where she sat in the middle of the SUV next to Sky. She, Luke, Sky and Jack were on their way to Bannerman Road, and then Oxford, to see Luke off. It felt strange to be saying goodbye to him, even if it was only for a short while. He would return to see them in a few weeks, when he could find the spare time.

 

“The same as ever, I suppose,” he shrugged. “Something’s different, though.”

 

“You’re leaving different people behind than you were last year,” said Jack, changing gears. “That might be it.”

 

“Maybe …” Luke murmured absently.

 

They reached 13 Bannerman Road fifteen minutes after that. Luke barely made it out of the vehicle before he was attacked by a young woman with black curls spilling down her back.

 

“Luke!” she exclaimed, delighted, as she hugged him tightly.

 

Luke politely waited for her to release him, while Jenny knew she would have been struggling and grumbling had she been in the same position.

 

“This is my friend, Jenny,” said Luke, glancing behind him. “And Jack, my boss … I think.”

 

Jack chuckled. “The job’ll still there, when you come back, if you want it.”

 

“Well, that’s nice to know. Thanks, Jack.”

 

“I’m Maria,” said the young woman, with a small smile, having found an opening. “I used to live across the road.”

 

“I heard,” said Jenny, offering a hand, which Maria shook. “I’m Jenny; the Doctor’s daughter.”

 

She laughed. “I heard.”

 

“Where’re Clani?” asked Luke, frowning slightly.

 

Maria rolled her eyes at the term. “Inside. There should be tea, if you want to come in.”

 

“I like tea,” said Sky with a smile.

 

“I remember,” Maria responded, putting an arm around the girl’s shoulders and leading her into the house. “One sugar and biscuits for dipping.”

 

Jenny fell into step beside Luke as they followed. “She’s even nicer than you describe.”

 

Luke smiled. “It’s hard to do her justice.”

 

Jenny shook her head. “You are so smitten, it’s unbelievable. It’s like one of those romantic comedy things that Gwen has half a million of.”

 

“You know you and Sky would be much better off watching documentaries than rom-coms.”

 

“Don’t change the subject, mister.”

 

“Hey K9!”

 

“Greetings, Master,” the robot dog, that Jenny had only briefly heard about, replied. “Mistress.”

 

“Hi,” she patted his head, surprised at the title, but willing to go along with it. She’d have to question Luke later. “Have you been keeping an eye on the place for Luke?”

 

“Affirmative, Mistress.”

 

“Maria and I are staying,” said Rani, from where she leaned against the staircase. “Mum and Dad can still keep an eye on me, and they don’t have to listen to me. Heaven.”

 

Luke laughed, embracing the young woman. “Well, you haven’t trashed the place, as far as I can tell. I have to check and see if Mr Smith is still functioning.”

 

“Ha ha.”

 

“Thank you,” Luke concluded. “For looking after the place.”

 

Rani smiled. “What are friends for?”

 

They climbed the stairs to the attic, which was a wide, spacious room, with a large screen on the wall. A purplish design swirled around the screen.

 

“Greetings, daughter of the Doctor.”

 

“Just Jenny,” she responded. “Pleased to meet you, Mr Smith.”

 

“Hey, Mr Smith,” Rani sat down on the steps.

 

“Greetings, Rani. Luke. What a pleasure it is to see you again.”

 

“How did you know who I was?” asked Jenny, curiously, sitting next to Rani.

 

“DNA components show direct relation to the Doctor.”

 

“Oh. Can I … see my components?”

 

“Certainly, Jenny.”

 

The swirling design was replaced with a model of someone. Her. Two hearts, an abnormally large brain (in human standards), an accelerated respiratory system, normal human excretory and reproductive systems.

 

“Conclusion: Time Lord DNA. Relation to the Doctor: offspring.”

 

“Hmm,” she said. “Can you tell me if I can regenerate?”

 

The data disappeared, the words ‘FULL BODY SCAN’ appearing at the top of the model.

 

“A total of twelve regenerations remaining,” said Mr Smith.

 

“Thanks, Mr Smith.”

 

“Do you lot want tea?” yelled Clyde from the kitchen.

 

“Yeah!” Rani yelled back, without consulting the other two. “C’mon, let’s go get some.”

 

They went back down the staircase and into the kitchen, where they found Maria sitting at the table, before a line of mugs, which Clyde was pouring tea into; Sky sitting on the worktop, legs swinging merrily; and Jack talking to someone, presumably Gwen, through his earpiece.

 

“Yeah, I’ll be back in an hour or so … you can ask for UNIT's help, can’t you? Call me back after. Yeah. Bye.”

 

“What’s wrong?” asked Jenny, leaning against the counter next to Sky.

 

“Gwen found a group of aliens. She doesn’t know what they are. Neither do I, to be honest. She’s going to call UNIT for backup.”

 

“You should go. I’ll be fine on my own.”

 

“We came with you for a reason, Luke,” said Jenny. “UNIT will help Gwen. Kate Stewart is a lovely woman.”

 

“Her father knew yours,” said Jack.

 

She rolled her eyes. “Everybody involved in aliens knew my father.”

 

“Can we come with?”

 

“Sure,” Jack agreed. “There’s plenty of space.”

 

“Settled,” Clyde threw an arm around Luke’s shoulders. “We’ll send you off in style, Lukey boy!”

 

“Never call me that ever again.”

 

Clyde laughed, “No promises.”

 

“Any biscuits?” Jenny piped up. Maria wordlessly handed her a packet of chocolate digestives. She smiled. “Thanks.”

 

“What time do you have to be there, Luke?” Sky asked her brother.

 

He shrugged, “Any time. Today’s about getting us back and settled. Classes start back on Thursday.”

 

“So … when are we going?”

 

“Quick as you like,” said Jack. “I’m just the chauffer.”

 

Jenny shot him a look not unlike Gwen's ‘ _behave'_ one, that was used more often than anyone cared for.

 

“After we finish this tea,” Luke decided. “That all right?”

 

“Sure.”

 

So it was that, after they had dumped their mugs in the sink and locked up, they climbed into the SUV, Jenny sitting in the front (with a slight ulterior motive), Luke, Sky and Maria sat in the middle, and Clyde and Rani in the back.

 

“Is that a computer screen?” Rani demanded, after they were about five minutes into the journey.

 

“Tosh used to sit there,” was all Jack said. Jenny glanced over her shoulder (and Sky’s head) at the young woman.

 

“Toshiko Sato,” she explained. “Computer genius. She worked at Torchwood until … her untimely death.”

 

Jack looked at her. “How do you know that?”

 

“Torchwood files. Honestly, do you even know what’s in that Hub?”

 

“Yes,” he said defensively. “I just didn’t know you knew where they were.”

 

“I know everything,” she said, despite the fact that it wasn’t (strictly speaking) true. Still, she knew much more than the average human.

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“When’s my birthday?”

 

Jenny scoffed. “ _Trivia_ is not knowledge.”

 

“I beg to differ,” was his reply. “I’m a fixed point in time.”

 

“That was down to Rose, not you.”

 

“It’s April third, by the way,” he said to the whole vehicle. “Feel free to buy me presents.”

 

“Don’t count on it,” said Rani cheerily.

 

They stopped at a traffic light.

 

“I’m hurt,” said Jack, clutching his chest dramatically.

 

“Green light,” Jenny pointed out.

 

They drove on.

 

* * *

 

 

“Wow.”

 

“It’s so big.”

 

“It’s beautiful.”

 

Luke laughed at all of his friends and his sister, staring up at all Oxford had to offer, in complete awe. With Sky, it was expected; Jenny too perhaps. But Clyde, Rani and Maria were too staring.

 

“It’s a University,” he said. “God knows there are plenty of them.”

 

“You don’t believe in God.”

 

“It’s an expression,” Luke said. “Slang, right?”

 

Clyde nodded, laughing.

 

“You’ve done a lot of work with him since I was last here,” Maria grinned.

 

“Are we going in?” asked Jack, sounding mainly impatient.

 

“I’m sure things were more impressive in the 51st century,” said Jenny.

 

“Will be, technically. And no, not really. The Boeshane Peninsula was a small town.”

 

“Isn’t it a beach town?” Jenny frowned as they walked towards the ‘dorms’ as Luke called them. “They’re supposed to be busy …”

 

“Don’t get me wrong, we get tourists, but there weren’t many people living there.”

 

“And you had a brother, right?”

 

Jack nodded tersely. “Gray.”

 

“Here we are,” said Luke, obviously wanting to steer the conversation away from memories that were painful to Jack. Jenny felt slightly guilty She _was_ naturally curious, but in a different way to Sky.

 

“Anyway, I thought you didn’t want to know about me.”

 

“I never said that,” Jenny replied, as they entered the building and followed Luke up the busy staircase.

 

“You did!” Jack called, from several steps above. “You said ‘ _trivia_ isn’t knowledge’.”

 

“That doesn’t mean I don’t want to know the trivia,” she said, as they reached the landing.

 

“I had no idea you were so interested in me.”

 

She rolled her eyes. “Give me that box.”

 

She took the cardboard box full of Luke’s things and walked off, seeking the company of her other friends instead.

 

Luke was standing outside the door of his dormitory, talking to a friend; a young man, slightly shorter than Luke, with dark red hair that was (most likely deliberately) very unkempt.

 

“Is this the girlfriend?” he asked, glancing at Jenny.

 

She smiled. “No. His girlfriend’s over there. The one with the curly hair.”

 

“ _Jenny!_ ”

 

“What? About time you two got together.”

 

The young man laughed. “We’re in the same boat, then. I’m Charlie.”

 

“Jenny,” she smiled. “I’d shake your hand, but …” she raised the box slightly, turning to Luke.

 

“Where do I put this?”

 

“On the bed,” he decided, as the three of them entered the room. Jenny deposited the cardboard box on the bed and sat on a free portion of mattress.

 

“Do you go here?” Charlie asked her. “I don’t think I’ve seen you. Would’ve remembered a face like yours.”

 

“No,” she said, recognising the flattery and ignoring it. “We’re friends. We’ve got a mutual boss,” she glanced out the door, “… who is currently chatting up one of the students.”

 

“He’s always like this?” Charlie asked, noting Jenny’s exasperated tone.

 

“Pretty much.”

 

“Anything that moves, our Jack.”

 

“Where is it you work?" asked Charlie interestedly.

 

“Tourist information centre,” she said, remembering Torchwood’s cover; the desk that no one ever seemed to sit at. “Cardiff.”

 

“You’re a long way from home,” he remarked.

 

“You’ve gotta go where the work is,” she shrugged. A head of curly black hair appeared in the doorway. “Ah. _This_ is Maria,” she smiled at the young woman. “The girlfriend,” she whispered to Charlie. Luke scowled at her.

 

* * *

 

 

“Did you get a _date?_ ” Jack teased her, as soon as she had sat into the SUV. She and Maria sat on either side of Sky, ready to comfort her should she become upset.

 

She gave him a look of disdain with the aid of the rear-view mirror. “We swapped numbers, if that’s what you mean. But I think it’s more of a combined effort to make Luke wish he’d picked better friends than anything else.”

 

“What are you thinking of doing to him?” asked Maria, with a grin.

 

“Trying to push him together with this girl we both know he really likes,” Jenny smiled back, wondering if the young woman would understand that she meant her.

 

“Oh …” Maria sounded disappointed. She hadn’t realised, then. “Good luck with that.”

 

She barely suppressed a sigh, glancing back at Clyde and Rani.

 

Humans were hard work.

 


	9. Chapter Nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have a little development in the Jack/Jenny relationship. I love those two, and the fact that there's actually a tag on tumblr. There's about two pages and everything!

* * *

_Chapter Nine_

* * *

 

 

The house was unusually quiet, on that morning in particular. Luke was in a different country (technically), Rhys had left at six o’clock in the morning to make a delivery to Devon, and Gwen had come into the room that Sky and Jenny now shared at half past seven to inform them that she was bringing Anwen to the child-minder’s and then going to Torchwood to look after Jack, who had died of alcohol poisoning the previous night after attending a party.

 

So it was that Jenny and Sky were left alone in the house, and all responsibility for it fell to them. Jenny switched on the radio in the kitchen to make the place noisier. Sky fiddled with the crest on her school jumper, looking nervous. She was starting Cardiff High School that day, and was apprehensiveabout the whole thing. Jenny frowned at the young Flesh Kind.

 

“What do you want for breakfast?”

 

“Nothing.”

 

Now Jenny was worried. “C’mon, Sky. You'll be fine! It’s just school, not the end of the world.”

 

“I’m fine,” said Sky. “Just not hungry.”

 

“Well, have some fruit or something, at least,” she implored, pouring some cereal into a bowl for herself. “Keep your strength up.”

 

“Okay,” the young girl agreed, making her way over to the fruit bowl. Jenny decided that her motherly instincts were not half bad.

 

“How do you feel?” she asked, over her bowl of cereal, as Sky carefully de-stalked an apple.

 

“Okay …” the young girl finally answered, taking a bite out of the apple as she did so. “It wasn’t this bad at my old school; Clyde and Rani were there.”

 

“You’ll be fine,” Jenny assured her. “Just remember – how old are you?”

 

“Twelve,” she answered.

 

“Good. And what year are you in?”

 

“Eight.”

 

“Excellent.”

 

Jenny left her cereal bowl in the sink and started to organise everything she had to bring with her on the table top; her keys to the house, the Torchwood-issue wrist-strap that she never wore on her wrist, her phone, money, the sonic lipstick … the list went on.

 

“I should get a handbag,” she mused.

 

“I think it’d look cool,” Sky agreed, switching off the radio.

 

“You ready?” asked Jenny, going out into the hall to pull on the pea coat that she had bought when Gwen had taken her shopping for ‘Autumn’ clothes, which consisted mainly of knitwear. She filled the pockets with a small sigh.

 

“Yup,” Sky looked happier now, swinging her school bag onto her back and leading the way out of the house.

 

Jenny locked the door and followed Sky across the street. The school was a short walk away – on the way to Torchwood.

 

“Are you feeling better?” she asked conversationally.

 

“Yeah. I’m still nervous, though.”

 

“There’s no need to be. You’ll have made friends with half your group by dinnertime.”

 

Sky smiled slightly. “I hope so.”

 

“Have you got your pendant?”

 

Sky nodded, tugging at the chain around her neck for emphasis.

 

“Would you be able to walk to Torchwood by yourself, then? It’s not far …”

 

“Sure,” Sky agreed. “I’ll be fine.”

 

“Okay …” they had reached the school gates. Children milled around, saying goodbye to parents (some very reluctantly).

 

“Thanks, Jenny,” Sky beamed up at her, hugging her tightly before running off to find other people in her year group. Jenny stared in stunned silence after her, remembering to yell, “See you later!” before the girl was out of sight.

 

“Your sister, is she?”

 

Jenny turned to see a woman – a mother, most likely – standing there, smiling at her.

 

“Something like that,” Jenny replied. “Extended family. It’s her first day here; she transferred from another school. She was really nervous.”

 

“She’ll be fine by the end of the day,” the woman assured her.

 

“I’m sure she will be. Sorry, I should get to work,” she added politely. “It was nice meeting you …?”

 

“Ruth.”

 

“Ruth. I’m Jenny. See you around, I suppose.”

 

She walked away, rummaging in her pockets as she did so. Every day, on the way to Torchwood, they stopped at a little cafe to buy coffee in Styrofoam cups. Ed, the barista who was always there in the mornings, smiled at her as she entered.

 

“The usual?” he questioned.

 

“Extra strong for Jack’s, please,” she smiled back. “He had a rough night last night, apparently.”

 

He chuckled. “A party, was it?”

 

“Of course.”

 

She glanced around the cafe as she waited for her order. It was quiet this morning. Some people revived over coffee; a woman worked on her laptop, and a man in the corner had a full English breakfast set in front of him.

 

“That’ll be seven pounds fifty.”

 

She turned her attention back to the counter, seeing a tray of Styrofoam cups with messages scrawled on them in black sharpie (only for the regulars). Jenny dug out a ten pound note, sliding it across the counter.

 

“Cheers.”

 

She waited for her change, fingers drumming lightly on the countertop.

 

“Thanks,” she smiled, shoving the coins into her pocket, picking up the tray and leaving the café.

 

Luke was right about autumn, Jenny decided. It had (so far) been a beautiful season; colder than summer, but still quite warm. The leaves on the trees, usually green, had turned to a riot of colours, a wonderful sight to behold. She decided to walk more often.

 

She reached the Roald Dahl Plass, which was quite busy that morning, navigating her way through the crowds to find the way to the patch of pavement that was in fact an invisible lift which was actually a perception filter, but, in Jack’s words, ‘invisible lift’ sounded cooler. She rummaged in her pockets again – this time one-handed – and emerged with the wrist strap, pressing the button that activated the lift.

 

Gwen was working at one of the computers when she arrived, looking up at the sound of the lift and accepting a cup of coffee with her name on it with a, “Bless you.”

 

Jenny laughed. Her assumption had been correct. “How’s the patient?”

 

“Alive,” was Gwen’s answer, as she sipped her cappuccino. “Though he might be thinking of killing himself just for the rest. I gave him some Aspirin; he’ll be fine.”

 

“In his office?”

 

She nodded. “Don’t knock.”

 

She smiled, climbing the steps to where the office was – close to the ‘kitchen’, an area in which tea, coffee, and, occasionally, actual food were made – and pushed the door open as quietly as possible. Jack was sitting at his desk, head in his hands, his long coat thrown carelessly over the back of the chair.

 

“How are you feeling?”

 

“Ugh,” was his response. He raised his head ever so slightly. Jenny set the cardboard tray on the desk.

 

“Well, I’ve got coffee, if you want it.”

 

His head shot up and he grabbed one of the cups. She bit her lip to stop herself from laughing as he squinted at the note Ed had written in sharpie and took a long draught.

 

“I love you.”

 

She laughed. “Me or the coffee?”

 

“Both. And Gwen …” he squinted once more at the cup. “And Ed.”

 

“Yeah well,” she folded her arms. “You wouldn’t need the coffee if you didn’t drink so much.”

 

“Save it,” he said, nursing his coffee. “Gwen already gave me a lecture.”

 

“I’m serious, Jack. Just because … liver failure and alcohol poisoning aren’t problems for you, doesn’t mean you should be doing this to yourself.”

 

“ _You_ need a drink.”

She shot him a look that could be classed under ‘ _This isn't funny, Jack_ ’, picking up her coffee; a mocha latte with _Jenny – enjoy the coffee. You’re a good friend – Ed_ written on it.

 

“I mean it. You could do with a drink. You want to fit in, right? Twenty-one year olds drink.”

 

She raised an eyebrow. “Are you _sure_ you’re sober?”

 

“Yeah. Gwen made sure.”

 

She sighed. “Well, there are still actual _aliens_ out there. _Killing people_ , you know. So, whenever you’re up to it …”

 

“Jenny. Wait.”

 

She turned her head, hand on the door, questioning glance prompting him to speak.

 

“Thank you … for the coffee, I mean.”

 

She smiled slightly. “What are friends for?”

 

* * *

 

 

Sky arrived at the hub at half past three, beaming as she pulled a chair up beside Jenny.

 

“How was school, kiddo?” asked Jenny, minimising the report she’d been writing on an alien, its species as of yet unknown, that Gwen had discovered, and was currently checking on, to be filed to UNIT's data banks.

 

“Great!” she answered, grinning. “You were right. I met this girl called Emma, and she’s really nice and … where’s Gwen?”

 

“Checking on the aliens. Don’t go near them, Sky, especially the Unknown. We don’t know its powers.”

 

“You’re writing a report on it,” Sky pointed out, obviously having noticed. “So you must know something.”

 

“We don't know the _extent_ of its powers,” she rephrased.

 

“What did you do?” Sky asked curiously.

 

“Went for a pointless drive, and caught some rouge Weevils,” she replied, not mentioning that Jack had died twice because he was still not on form. “Now I’m writing a report for UNIT.”

 

“Why don’t UNIT write their own report?”

 

“It was Torchwood who discovered the Unknown; me who’s got to write the report. Here’s Gwen. Go bother her.”

 

Sky left to hug her second adoptive mother, telling her everything that had happened at her new school. Jenny smiled, returning to her report. She didn’t mind writing it, really. The Unknown was a strange thing, blue in colour, with small, blank eyes. It did not speak, despite Jack’s attempts to communicate in what he knew of alien language. It merely sat there, in its cell. The fellow members of its species had fled when confronted with Gwen and the UNIT agents, which she took to mean that they were not a threat to the planet, but precautions were to be taken.

 

A message popped up on the screen, interrupting her writing. It was Skype. _Luke Smith Calling_.

 

“Sky!” she called the younger girl. “It’s Luke!”

 

She rushed over as Jenny adjusted the webcam and clicked _Answer with video._

 

The image focused to show Luke sitting at a desk Jenny remembered seeing in his room.

 

“Hi!” the two of them beamed at him.

 

“How are you?” Sky added.

 

“Oh I’m fine,” he waved it away as if unimportant. “How are _you?_ How was school, Sky?”

 

“Great …!” she started to tell him what had happened in her first day. Jenny smiled slightly, getting up, leaving brother and sister alone to talk. (“The teachers are really nice and I love science and I met a girl called Emma and the language is _funny_!”)

 

“I’m taking this out of your wages,” Jack remarked, as she climbed the steps to the little kitchen. He took a sip of tea.

 

“It’s not costing you,” she pointed out.

 

“Time is money, Jen.”

 

She didn’t say anything about the shortened version of her name, merely asking, “Since when do you drink tea?”

 

“I love tea! … after twelve o’clock.”

 

“Well, consider this my tea break, then,” she filled the kettle, pulling herself up on the counter as she waited for it to boil.

 

“You already had lunch.”

 

She stuck her tongue out at him.

 

“How mature.”

 

“I’m three years old, Jack.”

 

“Good point,” he said. “But you’re more mature than that father of yours sometimes, so you’re doing all right.”

 

She cocked her head, curious. “How old is he?”

 

“I don’t know. Around nine hundred, apparently, but I don't know.”

 

“Are you older than him?”

 

“I don’t know. I lost count along the way. Probably.”

 

“It’s been a long life, huh?” Jenny murmured, jumping down to find a mug and a teabag, “… is that why you drink?”

 

“Largely.”

 

“There are other ways,” she said, pouring herself some tea.

 

“You’d know.”

 

“Excuse me?” she spared him a half glance as she took the milk from the table.

 

“Something haunts you,” he said. “I can tell. Takes one to know one, right?”

 

“A human saying.”

 

“I am human. Or I was, at least. And you’re pretending to be.”

 

“You’re right,” Jenny murmured, staring at her tea and not drinking it. “I never told you about what happened on Messaline, did I?”

 

“No,” Jack shook his head. “Martha told me bits.”

 

“We were separated; she doesn't know the whole story. I was born, if you can call it that, handed a gun, and told to fight,” she paused, drinking some tea. “I killed. Killed people like me – whose only purpose in life was to fight, and then die, without even knowing what they were fighting for, not really. Dad – he didn’t accept me. Of course he wouldn’t. You know him better than I do. He called me an echo. But Donna, she was my friend, she helped me. He accepted me, finally. He got me to stop killing. ‘You always have a choice,’ he said. Whether to save a life or take one. He was going to take me with him. To see new worlds. But then …”

 

“The General shot you,” he finished. She nodded. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything.”

 

“No, but you’re right,” she shook her head. “There are other ways to cope. This helps. Sky helps. Gwen helps. Torchwood helps. Saving people helps. Maybe I can pay back for the lives I took.”

 

“Jenny,” he was standing in front of her now. “Hey, look at me. You are not a bad person, all right? You’re not. You didn’t have a choice.”

 

“You always have a choice,” she murmured. She took a step back, voice strengthening. “But, I still haven’t gotten to the point. You’ve got to stop drinking until you die. That’s no way to live. I think you should stay with us for a week – if Gwen okay’s it. You try my way, and at the end of the week, I’ll try your way.”

 

He raised an eyebrow. “You’re going to get drunk?”

 

“Absolutely not, but I will try one. Deal?”

 

He stared at her for a moment, standing there defiantly, and smiled, “Deal.”


	10. Chapter Ten

* * *

_Chapter Ten_

* * *

 

 

“You’d swear you _want_ to sleep on the couch,” Rhys remarked, as he passed her. Jenny was folding up the blanket and pillow that she used to sleep on the sofa, leaving them beside it out of the way.

 

“I don’t sleep much,” she replied nonchalantly.

 

“How many hours did you get last night?”

 

“Three.”

 

He shook his head, venturing into the kitchen to make some coffee. She chuckled.

 

“Anyone else up?”

 

Rhys shook his head. “It’s Saturday, Jenny, nobody’s ever up.”

 

“You are.”

 

“Yeah, well, I’m used to it, ain’t I? Are you having coffee?”

 

“Yes please,” she smiled, padding into the kitchen. She could shower and dress after breakfast. It was Saturday, after all.

 

“I thought I heard voices,” murmured Sky, walking past Jenny in a fluffy dressing gown.

 

“Morning,” Jenny smiled at her. “Jack still asleep?”

 

“Yeah,” she said. “What’s for breakfast?”

 

“How about pancakes?” suggested Rhys.

 

“Banana pancakes?”

 

“You bet.”

 

Jenny smiled. Pancakes might take a while. “I’m gonna take a shower. Don’t eat them all on me.”

 

“No promises!” Sky called after her as she left the kitchen.

 

She wandered along the hall to find the press where the towels were kept. That day was the second in which Jack was staying with them. She had been surprised to find that he and Rhys seemed to get along reasonably well. On her first witness of an exchange between the two, she had assumed them to be enemies, at worst. She gathered two towels and made her way to the bedroom.

 

Jack was no longer asleep, but was sitting on the bed, lacing up his shoes. He was dressed in the same way as always.

 

“Do you ever wear anything other than that?” she asked, dumping the towels on the other bed and rummaging through the chest of drawers.

 

“Do you ever wear your hair down?”

 

She rolled her eyes at the retort. “It’s down right now, Jack.”

 

“It’s always in that ponytail.”

 

“I _like_ that ponytail.”

 

“I’m just saying,” he stood up, picking up his coat as he did so. “You should let your hair down once in a while.”

 

She shook her head as he left, knowing that it meant something other than her hair style. She found some clothes, adding them to her pile and going into the bathroom.

 

She hadn’t really known what to make of showers the first time she’d tried one, but she found that she enjoyed them. The stream of hot water was pleasant, and she had time to think, sometimes even sing bits of the songs that were played frequently on the radio station that Gwen listened to.

 

“You waited for me?” she asked, surprised, as she entered the kitchen and sat next to Sky.

 

“Good manners and everything, isn’t it?”

 

She smiled. “Thanks, guys.”

 

* * *

 

“So, what do you think?” Jenny asked, hands in the pockets of her pea coat, wearing a hat that Gwen had forced on her. She really picked up the mothering thing very quickly. Anwen was going to be the kind of teenager that protested as her mother fixed her clothes. She could tell.

 

Jenny had announced that she was going for a walk, and dragging Jack with her, who was in his usual dress. She had a feeling that he would wear that coat even in scalding temperatures. Now that they were standing outside an orchard, where the leaves were a riot of beautiful colours, he looked unimpressed.

 

“I don’t know why this is necessary.”

 

“C’mon, Jack, It’s beautiful!” she argued.

 

“This happens every single autumn, Jenny. I’ve seen it a thousand times.”

 

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, well this is the first time _I’ve_ seen it, so humour me, okay?”

 

“I don’t see how this is supposed to help.”

 

“If you can tolerate me, you can stop drinking.”

 

“Tolerate you?” he frowned. “You’re my friend. That takes a bit more than _toleration_.”

 

“Gwen’s words, not mine,” she said, crouching down and taking her hand out of her pockets to pick up a fallen red leaf. “How can you not find this remarkable, Jack? I'm sure that I will even after _I’ve_ seen it a thousand times.”

 

“That’s you.”

 

She twirled the stem between her fingers, pocketing the thing.

 

“You’re still going to be around in a thousand years,” Jack murmured, as they started to walk again. “Sometimes I forget.”

 

She almost laughed. “Forget I’m an alien? But I get what you mean. Gwen, Rhys, Luke, Sky, Anwen. They’re all going to die, eventually.”

 

“So am I, hopefully. I mean, I can’t stick around till the end of the world, can I?”

 

“Isn’t that what immortal means? Never dying, never ageing.”

 

"The same applies to you, but only until your regenerations run out. Does that make you immortal?”

 

She shook her head, in an ‘ _I don’t know_ ’ way rather than a ‘ _no_ ’ way. She thought Jack understood. “Anyway, point is, I’ll be around for a while, so I think you’ll have to tolerate me after all.”

 

He laughed. They reached the house, Jenny digging in her pocket for keys, mumbling as she did every time about how she should buy a handbag, though she still hadn’t. She should have written it on her hand. Finally finding them, she opened the door.

 

“You could’ve just rang the doorbell,” Jack pointed out, as they stepped into the house.

 

“I would’ve bothered someone,” she replied, taking off her hat and coat and hanging them up before taking the leaf out and holding it carefully.

 

“What are you going to do with that?”

 

“Press it,” she answered, walking into the living room and sitting on the sofa next to Sky. “Hey Sky. What are you watching?”

 

“ _How I Met Your Mother._ Remember it?”

 

“Oh yeah,” she said, then, raising her voice, she called, “Gwen?”

 

“What?” came the yelled answer from down the hall.

 

“Where’s the phone book?”

 

“In the study!”

 

“What do you want the phone book for?” Sky frowned.

 

“I found this,” she said, showing it to the younger girl. “I’m going to press it.”

 

“That’s a great idea!” Sky exclaimed. Jenny smiled faintly at her, walking down the hallway and searching the study for the copy of _The Yellow Pages_ that was kept in there. Finding it, she slid the leaf into one of the back pages and closed it, returning to Sky.

 

It was a much earlier episode than the one they had previously watched. The actors were younger, and the main character, Ted, was dating a woman called Zoey. It was an enjoyable series, she decided.

 

“Maybe we should start watching them from the start,” she suggested.

 

“Yeah, we should …”

 

“Dinner in twenty,” Gwen announced, walking into the kitchen.

 

“What are we having?” the two girls called after her.

 

“Pizza.”

 

Sky grinned. Jenny remembered her mentioning that the first thing she had ever eaten on this planet. She had eaten a biscuit; not quite as momentous.

 

She stood, walking down the hall and into the bedroom. It was empty, making it easy to grab her laptop and charger and leave again.

 

She heard voices as she walked back down the hall. She stopped outside Anwen’s room, craning her ears. She frowned. It wasn’t Rhys speaking, but Jack.

 

“… I’ll probably still look the same when you die, you know. That’ll be a difficult explanation when you’re older. But right now I’m your uncle Jack, and that’s all you need to know … you might even join Torchwood. That’d be funny. Your mother would have a field day …”

 

She continued on her way, frowning again, slightly, enough for Sky to ask, “What’s up?” as she sat beside her again.

 

“Nothing,” she replied, plugging the laptop in and switching it on. “Nothing …”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. I just feel like Jack is/will be really close to Anwen. Like when he found out Gwen was pregnant, he said, “We’re having a baby!” As in the three of them. Torchwood. And if Ianto was still alive, he’d be an uncle too. So yeah.


	11. Chapter Eleven

* * *

_Chapter Eleven_

* * *

 

 

“Jenny?”

 

She blinked rapidly, lifting her head. It was morning; sunlight streaming through the windows. She had slept through the night.

 

“What’s wrong?” she asked groggily, as the figure standing beside the sofa came into focus. It was Gwen, holding Sky. Both were still in pyjamas.

 

“Sky’s sick,” she explained. Jenny moved her feet, and Gwen deposited the young Flesh Kind on the sofa. “She’s feverish. Jack noticed her tossing and turning during the night … anyway, I don’t want to ask you to give up your day off, but …”

 

“It’s fine,” said Jenny immediately. She’d had nothing planned, except perhaps taking the train to London and turning up at the door of one of her friends. “I’ll look after Sky.”

 

“You don’t mind?”

 

“Of course not,” she said, as if it were obvious. “She’s like my sister.”

 

“Okay,” said Gwen, looking very grateful. “I’ll bring Anwen to the child-minder’s – one’s enough to look after. I’ll give you medicine. There’s a packet of soup in the cupboard that should do. And daytime TV will amuse you both,” she made her way to the kitchen, muttering, “God knows you’re fascinated by most anything …”

 

Jenny smiled, pulling some of her blanket over the younger girl. It was hardly their fault that they were fascinated with the planet they had spent only a few months on.

 

“Do you want coffee?” Gwen called.

 

“Sure, thanks.”

 

* * *

 

After taking a shower, securing her blonde hair in a ponytail, and changing into her favourite jeans and sweater, Jenny returned to the sitting room. Sky was curled up on the couch, the fluffy throw wrapped around her, her gaze fixed on the morning show that was on television.

 

“How are you feeling?” asked Jenny, sitting down.

 

“Okay,” Sky murmured in response. “The medicine helped a bit.”

 

“Well, I’ve got something that might cheer you up a bit,” she smiled, reaching into the pocket of her sweater, which was somehow large enough to conceal the DVD box set she’d bought the other day. She held it up so that Sky could read the title: _How I Met Your Mother, Complete Season 1 &2._

 

“When did you get that?” Sky queried, suddenly excited.

 

“A few days ago. Will I put it on?”

 

“Yeah!”

 

She smiled. Sky was forgetting her sickness already.

 

They soon lost themselves in the escapades of Ted Mosby as he searched for his future bride. During the third episode, Jenny left to put on the soup. Sky barely noticed, as engrossed as she was.

 

She had put the saucepan of water on to boil and opened the packet of soup when her phone rang.

 

“Hello?” she asked, managing to trap the contraption between her arm and ear whilst upending the granules into the saucepan.

 

“ _Hey Jenny._ ”

 

“Luke?” she frowned, confused. “Haven’t you got class?”

 

“ _Not right now. We tried to Skype you, but you weren’t online. Are you not in the hub?_ ”

 

“Day off,” she answered, reaching for the spoon. “Wait, ‘we’?”

 

“ _Oh yeah,_ ” Luke said, as if it had only just dawned on him that he was not alone. “ _Wait; let me put you on loudspeaker._ ”

 

“ _Hello!_ ” a different voice called.

 

“Charlie, isn’t it?” she frowned at the bubbling concoction on the cooker.

 

“ _Yep. And you’re Jenny_.”

 

“I am. Luke, why did you call me?”

 

“ _To say hi to my dearest friend,_ ” he sounded scandalised.

 

“Uh huh. I don’t know _how_ exactly you mistook me for Clyde, but …”

 

“ _No, really, how are you?_ ”

 

“Good. You two?”

 

“ _Well and chipper,_ ” said Charlie. She could practically hear Luke roll his eyes. “ _Is that soup I smell?_ ”

 

“ _We're hundreds of miles away, Chaz, you can't_ smell _soup._ ”

 

“You can tell what I’m making by hearing me _stir_ it?” Jenny demanded.

 

“ _It’s an unfortunate talent,_ ” said Luke. “ _Born, as I’m sure you can imagine, from eating too much._ ”

 

“ _Hey!_ ”

 

She heard Charlie hit his friend and rolled her eyes.

 

“ _How’s Sky?_ ” Luke asked next.

 

“Sick,” Jenny replied. “But she’s all right. She’s watching _How I Met Your Mother._ ”

 

“ _Are you making the soup for her?_ ”

 

“Yes.”

 

“ _That’s nice of you._ ”

 

“ _Can I talk to her?_ ” asked Luke, concern creeping into his voice.

 

“Sure thing, but if something happens to the soup in my absence, it’s your fault.”

 

She turned down the heat a little so it wouldn't boil over and made her way into the sitting room. Sky paused the TV and took the phone from Jenny, who whispered, “Luke,” before returning to the kitchen.

 

* * *

 

 

“So you’re feeling better?”

 

“Yep!”

 

“That’s good.”

 

Jack and Sky were sitting on the sofa, where ‘Zip Zip Zip’ was playing. She and Jenny had made their way through several episodes of Season 1 of _How I Met Your Mother_ – re-watching some that they deemed particularly interesting. Sky liked ‘Zip Zip Zip’, and was now showing it to Jack.

 

Jenny walked in with a tray (used mainly for guests) of hot chocolate, setting it on the coffee table and sitting beside them.

 

“ _You suited up!_ ” Barney exclaimed in surprise, from the television.

 

“You’re watching this one again?”

 

“They’re supposed to get married, right?” Sky asked, gesturing between Barney and Robin and leaning over to pick up her hot chocolate. “I think they’re sweet.”

 

“Hmm,” Jenny murmured, blowing on her hot chocolate.

 

“You know they don’t get together until series five, right?”

 

They pelted mini marshmallows at him in protest to the spoiler. “Okay!” he exclaimed, holding his arms up in surrender. “Yield! Yield!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There we are. We're all caught up. Well, I do have nine more chapters written, but I'd like to have them beta-ed before I post them.
> 
> Fiona fillers shamelessly. Lalalalaalaa. Well, How I Met Your Mother will return. Sky totally ships Barney and Robin, and will totally ship Jack and Jenny. But Anwen will be their number one shipper. Plus the image of mini marshmallow fire on Jack is fun


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I have never consumed alcohol in my entire life, so forgive me for any possible shoddy writing. I can claim ownership of Charlie, but he's not in this chapter

* * *

_Chapter Twelve_

* * *

“Tonight’s the night.”

“Tonight’s the night,” Jenny repeated, smiling slightly. The first night out of her life, in the (ill-advised) company of Captain Jack Harkness. To his credit, he had gone ahead to find the best and most quiet public house in the general area, where Gwen (who had done the advising) would drive her.

“What’s the verdict?” asked Jenny, standing up.

“Beautiful!” Sky exclaimed, still sitting on her bed.

“Very pretty,” Gwen agreed, smiling from where she leaned against the doorframe.

Since it was a milestone, however trivial, they had all agreed that Jenny should look nice. So it was that she was wearing a black dress that came to just above her knees, and her hair was curled and free over her shoulders.

“Are you ready to go?” asked Gwen.

She nodded, feeling her hair swing as she did so.

“C’mon then.”

“I’ll see you later, Sky,” she smiled.

“Have a nice time!”

“I’m sure I will.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you?” Gwen asked, as they walked down the hallway.

“I’ll be fine,” Jenny replied. “You stay in and have a nice night.”

“This is Jack we’re talking about. He will get you drunk.”

“If he does, I’ll kill him slowly and painfully. You don’t have to worry about me. You’re not my mother.”

Gwen shot her a look. “You don’t have a mother. Plus, someone’s got to look out for you. And let me tell you, Jack ain’t gonna.”

Jenny laughed. “Of that I am aware.”

Reaching the hallway, she pulled on her pea coat, called goodbye to Rhys, and stepped outside into the cold night air.

Her phone started to ring as Gwen opened the car door. She fished it out of her pocket. “Jack. Excellent timing.”

“I try my best,” he replied.

“Mhmm,” she climbed into the passenger’s seat of the car, slamming the door with her free hand. “Where are you?”

“Cardiff Bay Tavern.”

“Bay Tavern?” Jenny repeated, directing the question at Gwen. She nodded.

“Yeah, that’s it. Does Gwen know the way?”

“Yeah,” Jenny confirmed, nodding even though he couldn’t see her. “See you in a bit.”

“See you.”

She pocketed her phone and pulled on her seatbelt, smoothing down the fabric of her dress to give her something to do. Gwen switched on the radio. A cheery female voice sang about star ships.

“Have you been there before?” Jenny asked.

“The Tavern? Yeah. It’s a nice place. They’ve got good fare, if you’re hungry. He chose well.”

Jenny smiled. “Starting to trust him a little more?”

“God no. Anyway, you’re well fit to protect yourself if something were to happen.”

Jenny pulled a switchblade out of her coat pocket. “Affirmative.”

“‘Atta girl.”

Jenny laughed, replacing the blade. Soon after, they pulled up outside a large building.

“Be back by twelve!” Gwen said, as a goodbye.

“You’re not my mother,” Jenny reminded her again, smiling. “But I’m sure I will be.”

The pub wasn’t too busy, she decided, as she walked through the door. Three young men played pool with a young woman, some of the neatly-ordered tables were filled, and there were several spare seats at the bar. It was at the latter that Captain Jack Harkness was sitting, drinking a glass of some form of amber liquid. She slid onto the stool next to him, smiling in greeting.

“Hey.”

“Hello,” he smiled back. “Gwen didn’t chain herself to you, then.”

She laughed. “No. Not that she didn’t try.”

“She means well,” said Jack. “What are you having?"

“Well, you’re the expert,” she said. “What would you recommend?”

“Excuse me.”

A barmaid turned to face him, pretty face expectant.

“A white wine for the lady, please,” he requested, handing over a fiver.

“I would’ve paid for that,” Jenny muttered.

“You can pay next time, then.”

A glass of liquid – not white, as the name suggested – was placed in front of her. She smiled in thanks at the brunette barmaid and took a calculating sip. The concoction tasted faintly of grapes and something else she couldn’t quite put her finger on, and most certainly not unpleasant.

“Well?” Jack raised his eyebrows.

She nodded. “It’s good.”

Jack grinned. “That’s good. I got you something, by the way.”

She frowned as he reached down by his feet and passed a brown paper bag to her.

“Why?”

He chuckled. “A ‘Thank You’. You were right; there are other ways. Better ways. Sky certainly helps considerably.”

“I'm always right,” Jenny replied smugly, peeking inside the bag. She pulled out the gift. A handbag; one to be hooked over her shoulder and to contain everything that her pockets shouldn't. The material felt like leather, and the colour was creamy white; a stark contrast to her dress, but matching well with her pea coat. “Jack …”

“I heard you muttering the other day,” he explained. “I hope you were being serious.”

“I can’t accept this.”

He gave a half smile, half smirk. “I could take it out of your wages, if you’d prefer.”

She shot him a ‘Very funny’ look.

“You like it, though?”

“Yes! But I can’t—”

“‘Course you can. If you want to thank me,” he held up his empty glass. “You can buy me another pint.”

“Deal.”

* * *

The night passed in a blur of drinks. Jenny tried everything; beer, cider, scotch, whiskey, shots, cocktails. She felt the alcohol affecting her, but she was still confident that she could make rational decisions and hold her own if it came to it. Jack had left to talk to a friend he had spotted, and Jenny was sipping a cider, which she had eventually decided was her favourite. A young man, in his mid-twenties, she guessed, slid onto Jack’s vacated stool.

“That seat’s taken,” she informed him.

“By who? Your boyfriend?”

“My friend.”

“So you’re single?”

She didn’t like the direction the conversation was going in.

“Yes,” she replied shortly. “But I’m not looking for anyone right now.”

The man leered at her. “Are you sure I can’t change your mind?”

“Quite sure.”

The man, however, did not pay heed to her words. He ventured closer, until she could feel his breath against her cheek, and smell the alcohol.

The switchblade was out in an instant, carefully concealed to anyone but the man.

“You’d better leave pretty sharpish, if you know what’s good for you.”

“I’d do what she says,” said Jack idly. “She’s not one to mess with. That’s my seat, by the way.”

The man left, defeated. Jack laughed, sitting back on his stool. “Nice job, Jen.”

“Thanks,” she smiled, pocketing the little knife.

* * *

“Rise and shine!” Gwen exclaimed, far too happy for this time of the morning. Jenny groaned in protest, pulling the duvet up over her head. She was in her bed, rather than on the couch. She couldn’t remember getting there. All she knew was that her head was going to explode if she didn’t stay somewhere dark and quiet.

“I warned you,” Gwen sighed. There was a rattle, painful to her ears, and a bottle of painkillers landed on the bed. “I'm going to kill Jack …”

“Not before I do,” Jenny murmured weakly. “With a kitchen knife …”

Gwen laughed. Jenny winced at the sound.

She was never getting drunk again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I posted this chapter with HTML because something's up with AO3. But it turned out okay! Aren't you proud of me? (Okay I may have cheated a little bit with the help of Google)
> 
> I have lost my beta (through no fault of her own, she's just very very busy) so if anyone out there would like to be my new beta ...
> 
> Next chapter: An end to the fillers! I promise!


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter (and the following seven, for that matter), have been sitting in my folder for quite a while, and what with switching from one beta to another, and both of them being really busy (which I totally understand; love you guys) I never got around to posting them.
> 
> But, it's Christmas, so have a treat :3

 

* * *

_Chapter Thirteen_

* * *

 

 

“Things are going well,” she informed Martha, over a cup of coffee. “Sure, I haven’t found Dad yet, but I’ve got Gwen, Luke – some of the time anyway, Sky, Jack. I’m saving the world."

“He’d be very proud of you,” Martha smiled.

It was mid-October, a week since Jack had left the Cooper-Williams residence, and Jenny and Martha were sitting in the latter’s kitchen, catching up. It had been a good month since they’d seen each other, and many things had changed, mainly on Martha’s end. She and Mickey had re-joined UNIT, after a near-miss with a Sontaran that had almost caused their deaths. While UNIT had its dangers, they were less numerous than freelancing.

“Jack’s going to be disappointed,” Jenny smirked. “We still need a medic.”

The renewed UNIT agent rolled her eyes. “What for? He got along just fine for the past five years …”

“What if something happened to me or Sky and we needed to go to the hospital?”

“Jenny, your Dad was at my hospital, and no one kidnapped him to run tests or try and steal his immortality.”

Jenny shook her head. “But you didn’t _tell_ anyone that he had two hearts.”

“There’s always retcon,” Martha muttered, defeated, as Mickey entered the room.

“Hey Jenny,” he smiled, pecking Martha on the cheek and pouring himself some coffee. As was his usual greeting, he added, “Find him yet?”

The Time Lady shook her head, ponytail swishing with the movement. “Not yet.”

“You will,” he assured her, as he also said every time, stirring sugar into his coffee. “How’re things?”

“The same as ever. A Sycorax turned up in Cardiff Bay and started threatening everyone with a sword. I’ve never been so glad of that time Jack got drunk and taught me and Sky how to swordfight …” she sighed. The alien in question was contained in one of the cells of Torchwood, his sword hung in the shooting range. It was not, however the only oddity. A bow and quiver of arrows were also hung on the soundproof walls (“Funny story, that …” Jack had said, when they had been pointed out, before conveniently forgetting to tell them it).

“Thank God for Captain Cheesecake,” Mickey grinned. “Or we’d all be toast.”

Jenny quirked an eyebrow. “‘Captain Cheesecake’?”

“A nickname,” Martha sighed long-sufferingly, tucking a strand of dark hair behind her ear. “Jack calls him ‘Mickey Mouse’. He started calling me ‘Minnie Mouse’,” she shook her head. “I had no idea what he was on about.”

She laughed. “Cute.”

“You’d think.”

Jenny enjoyed her time in London. She tried to balance her time evenly between the Ponds, the Smiths and Luke (who always seemed to have Charlie in tow). It didn’t quite help that she had to keep with schedules. She didn't see as much of any of them as she would've liked. At least Luke would be returning to Cardiff for a week for the holiday that coincided with Halloween. Jenny was interested in the tradition of All Hallow’s Eve, and how it had changed over the years. Gwen insisted that it was a stupid holiday and that the young Time Lady’s interest was misdirected.

“I think I’ll head,” said Jenny, rising from her chair. “My train leaves at three … thanks for everything, you two.”

Martha stood to embrace her, and Mickey bestowed a one-armed hug to her, as he was still holding his coffee. Jenny swung her handbag over her shoulder and left the house, followed by Martha.

“Call again soon,” the dark-skinned woman implored. “It’s always a pleasure talking to you.”

“I will,” she promised, smiling, and setting off down the street.

She rummaged through her handbag, looking for some money. She’d buy a sandwich or something similar before setting off for the train station …

She collided with someone else, her handbag falling, the contents spilling all over the pavement.

“I’m so sorry!” she exclaimed, kneeling down and starting to refill her handbag, as the redhead she had knocked into brushed down her sweater. “I wasn’t looking where I was going – I—”

“It’s Song, right?”

Jenny froze at the voice, glancing over. Donna had knelt down and was helping her, her eyes the normal blue-green colour with a ring of gold encircling the pupil. She had Central Heterochromia, Jenny noted, wondering why she’d never noticed before. Donna was not affected by her presence, at least not yet.

“Yeah,” she managed, through her shock. This was the second time they’d met in a few short months. If this continued, Donna might come very close to remembering. “Jenny Song.”

“I never forget a weird name,” Donna grinned, adding a notebook to Jenny’s handbag.

“Thanks a lot,” Jenny smiled, pulling the handbag onto her shoulder. “It was very kind of you, considering it was me who bumped into you … I might see you again. You never know.”

The redhead nodded. “See you around, then, Song.”

Jenny watched her first friend walk off, chewing her lip. She didn’t mind being referenced to as ‘Song’. It was likely for the best. Repeating ‘Jenny’ too often might trigger something in her memory, despite their only having met once.

Jenny shook her head slightly, continuing on her way. She checked her phone. No messages or calls, and it was 2:45 pm. No chance of stopping anywhere; she’d have to eat on the train.

Sighing at the thought of the price of ‘train food’, she crossed the street, trying not to worry about Donna.

 

* * *

 

Jack was standing there at the train station, in his usual dark blue coat that made him stick out immediately in the crowd. His reason for being there couldn’t be good, but she was determined not to worry about it until she knew what it was.

“Jack,” was her greeting, as she reached him, hefting the handbag (which he’d bought her, she was reminded) higher up on her shoulder.

“Don’t be alarmed,” he began.

Dread pooled in her stomach, but she merely quirked an eyebrow. “You do realise that saying that has _made_ me alarmed?”

“Sky’s been taken to hospital,” he finished. “Gwen’s there with her, and we’re going now. C’mon.”

“What’s wrong with her?” Jenny asked, walking as quickly as possible without running to the SUV.

“Her fever came back,” Jack answered, starting the engine. “Antibiotics and _How I Met Your Mother_ —” his lips quirked upward slightly at that— “didn't work this time.”

“What if they check for her heartbeat?” Jenny queried, more to herself than Jack, running an agitated hand through her hair. “What if she can’t be treated by human medicine?”

“Jenny.”

She was startled by his hand covering hers. “Don’t worry,” he murmured. “She’ll be fine. Bombs are tough.”

She almost laughed. Some sort of huff of laughter escaped her, and tears pricked her eyes at the same time. Jack’s hand returned to the steering wheel.

“Does Luke know?” was the next thing she asked.

“No,” Jack replied. “No use bothering him when he’s got a big assignment coming up.” (Jenny frowned in surprise that he had remembered. It had been mentioned only briefly). “If she gets worse – which she _won’t_ – we’ll tell him.”

The blonde nodded. It made sense. University was hard work, even for someone like Luke.

The rest of the drive to Cardiff General passed in a thick silence. Jenny refused to voice any more fears, meaning Jack had no need to assuage them. Sky was the closest thing to a sister that Jenny had. She was deeply worried for her welfare.

They reached the hospital, Jenny trailing behind Jack as he enquired about Sky Smith. They were directed to floor five, ward fifteen. In a private room, they found Sky, lying in the hospital bed, wearing the standard-issue white gown, her light brown hair spreading across the pillow, a plastic band encircling her wrist. She looked weak, but she smiled at the sight of them.

“They’re running tests …” Gwen informed them. She, too, looked worried. Her nails had been bitten down, a sign of nervousness.

“I’ll be fine,” Sky murmured.

“‘Course you will, kiddo. You’re tough as old boots, you.”

She giggled as Jenny took a seat on the other side of the bed.

A doctor appeared; a middle-aged woman with a long ponytail falling down her back, holding a chart. She glanced at the people in the room. “My name is Dr. Adams. I have Miss Smith’s test results here. You are?”

“Gwen Cooper,” said Gwen. “Sky’s guardian. This is Jack Harkness and Jenny Song; they’re family friends.”

Dr. Adams nodded. “Well, I can conclude that Miss Smith’s—” she nodded towards Sky, who was listening intently—“illness has been caused by a virus. We’ll prescribe an antiviral and keep her in until it takes effect. It’s only a precaution. You can never be too careful. Is that all right, Sky?”

“Yeah.”

“All right,” Dr. Adams smiled. “If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask.”

“We’re fine; thanks, doctor.”

“See?” Sky smiled at them. “I’ll be fine in no time!”

“Yeah.”


	14. Chapter Fourteen

* * *

_Chapter Fourteen_

* * *

  

“Jenny.”

“Charlie.”

The young woman smiled, allowing her friend to hug her. “How’s Luke? Is he okay?”

“I assume that’s what you came to find out.”

Jenny rolled her eyes. “I had hoped to go in pre-informed, but apparently not.”

“Nope. Allow me to lead the way. Do you remember it?”

“Yes.”

“Still, allow me to lead the way. May I hold your hand?”

Fighting the urge to roll her eyes again, she replied, “Sleeve.”

“Wrist?”

“Deal.”

Charlie flashed her a grin, taking her by the wrist and leading her through the college halls. Some students greeted him, and asked who Jenny was. “A friend of Luke’s,” was the answer.

Over the past two weeks, Jenny had paid more visits to Oxford University than she cared to count. It was for Luke’s benefit, as (at Sky’s feeble request) he continued his studies. Sky was still at Cardiff General. The virus still raged through her body. No cure had yet been found, though many had been tried.

A side-effect of her visits had been finding the friendship of Charles Davidson. She could imagine how he and Luke had become friends in the first place; the most likely scenario being that Luke had been alone and relatively friendless and Charlie had bothered him until they became friends.

When they met a young man with wavy locks of brown hair, Charlie dropped her wrist as though he’d been burned.

“Hey James,” he smiled at the stranger.

“Hi Chaz,” the young man – James – smiled back. Dark eyes met Jenny’s. “Who are you?”

“I’m Jenny,” she replied, offering a hand. “Luke’s friend.”

“You’ve come about his sister?” James enquired, shaking her hand. “Is she any better?”

“No. But she’s no worse, either.”

“Tell her I – well she doesn’t know me. Tell her one of Luke’s friends was asking after her.”

“I will. Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise.”

Jenny turned to Charlie, who had been staring suspiciously at her. “What?”

“I felt your pulse. That’s what.”

Jenny sighed, wondering if the light-hearted redhead would believe her. “I’ll explain – just not here. Let’s go to Luke.”

Charlie nodded, his blue eyes slightly less judgemental as they set off again.

“Jenny,” Luke beamed at the sight of her, hugging her quickly. “How’s Sky?”

“The same. I’m sorry, Luke, we’re doing everything we can. But we can’t _find_ anything.”

“You said you’d explain,” Charlie cut in, folding his arms.

Luke frowned, glancing between them. “What’s going on?”

Jenny sighed, sitting on the bed. “He knows I’m not normal.”

“Oh.” He joined her on the bed. Charlie remained where he was, eyes silently asking for answers.

“Shall we tell him?” Jenny glanced at Luke. “I have retcon, but maybe we should try the truth.”

“Okay.”

The young Time Lady turned back to their mutual friend. “I’m _not_ normal. And neither is Luke.”

“He knew _that._ Well, not the extent of it, but you get my point.”

“The same ‘not normal’ as you, though?” Charlie asked.

“No, but similar. Sky isn’t normal either. Or Jack. And I don’t work in a Tourist Office.”

“Right.”

“I’m an alien,” Jenny continued, waiting cautiously for a reaction.

Charlie merely raised his eyebrows. “An alien?”

“Yeah.”

“A space alien?”

“Yup.”

“Cool!” he exclaimed, taking the revelation far better than Jenny would ever have believed. He pulled up a chair. “What are you?”

“Well, there was a race called the Time Lords, originating from the planet Gallifrey. They had two hearts, and great intelligence. They managed time. Fixed points. Glitches. Things like that. But there was a war, and my father was the only survivor. The last of the Time Lords.”

“If only he—”

“The Doctor,” Luke interrupted.

“What?”

“The Doctor,” Jenny repeated. “That’s his name. The only one he gives, anyway.”

“If The Doctor is the last of the Time Lords, how are you here? Who’s your mother?”

“I don’t have one.”

“What?”

“I don’t have a biological mother,” Jenny said. She could explain, and perhaps he would understand. “I was created from a machine. Progenation – reproduction from a single organism. You take Biology, right?”

He nodded.

“It takes a tissue sample, splits the Diploids into Haploids, recombines them in a completely new genetic code, and grows them.”

“Into this crazy kid we all know and love,” Luke finished.

Charlie nodded. “Interesting. So your father _isn’t_ the last of the Time Lords, then.”

“He’s the last Time Lord, and I’m the last Time Lady. The first to be originate outside of Gallifrey, I think.”

“Originating where, exactly?”

“A planet called Messaline.”

“What about you?” Charlie swivelled the chair to face Luke.

“I am human,” he replied. “But I was created by a race called the Bane. Genetically engineered. I wasn’t born. I’ve got no belly button; see,” he lifted up his shirt to show the smooth expanse of skin, and no dent in the abdomen that humans usually had. “I never get sick, and I remember almost everything I see.”

“No fair! No wonder you’re so clever.”

“You’re outsmarted by us two, I'm afraid.”

“Sorry, Chaz.”

He rolled his eyes at them. “You mentioned Jack and Sky?”

“Jack is immortal,” Jenny answered. “He’s a fixed point in time. Long story there. And Sky’s a Flesh Kind. They have their heart on the right side of their chest. That’s all I really know about them. Sky used to be a bomb, and now she can cause energy fluctuations. She can’t control them, though.”

“Do you have a heart each side of your chest?”

“Yes,” Jenny frowned.

“I hope you never break your ribs.”

“Thanks for your concern, Chaz.”

“It’s genuine concern!” he continued. “You’d turn into a science experiment or something if anyone found out you had two hearts.”

“I know. That’s why I didn’t tell you at first.”

There was silence, broken by Charlie asking, “Where _do_ you work?”

“Huh?”

“You said—”

“Oh yeah,” Jenny cut across him, remembering. “It’s an organisation called Torchwood.”

“And what do you do?”

“Stop the human race from discovering aliens before their time. Protect Cardiff from the space-time rift down the middle of it. Stuff like that.”

“So you save the world?”

“I suppose,” Luke replied. Jenny nodded in agreement with the statement.

“Awesome.”

 

* * *

 

 

“Jenny!” Rani exclaimed in surprise, having just opened the front door of 13 Bannerman Road to the Time Lady. “Come in! Maria’s here. We were just about to have tea. Do you want a cup?”

She smiled, stepping into the house. “That’d be great. No Clyde?”

“No, he’s with his grandmother. Did you go to see Luke?”

“Yeah,” Jenny replied, taking off her coat. “He’s okay. Sky’s much the same – no better, no worse – but I was hoping I might be able to ask Mr Smith a few questions that might be able to help.”

“Sure, I’ll get him out in a bit.”

They walked into the kitchen, where Maria stood, pouring tea into mugs.

“Hi Jenny,” she smiled. “I heard you talking, so—” she gestured to the three mugs. “How’s Sky doing?”

“She’s not bad,” Jenny replied, sitting at the table. “She’s brave, our Sky.”

“Yeah, she is,” Rani agreed, rummaging in the cupboard for biscuits.

“How are you three?” Jenny queried, taking a digestive.

“Oh we’re fine,” Maria smiled. “Same as ever. Live. Find some way of making money. Save the world. Rinse. Repeat.”

“Is K9 here?”

“Yup. K9!”

With a whir of wheels against the floor, the robot dog appeared. “Yes mistress.”

“Hey, K9!” Jenny grinned, patting the dog's head.

“Greetings, mistress. How may I assist you?”

She laughed. “I'm fine just yet, thanks.”

“Do you think the virus could’ve been caused by aliens?” asked Maria, her brow creasing.

Jenny shook her head. “No. We made sure she didn’t come in …” realisation struck her. She set her mug down on the table. “Maria, you’re a genius!”

“What?” the young woman asked, bewildered.

Jenny stood up and climbed the stairs as slowly as she could will herself to. Doing so gave Maria and Rani a chance to catch up with her.

“What’s going on?” Rani asked. “Did you figure something out?”

“If the virus is alien, then there’s only one alien that could have done it,” Jenny explained.

“How do you know?” Maria frowned, pushing open the door to the attic.

“There was a new arrival, not long before she first got sick.”

“Mr Smith!” Rani called to the bare expanse of wall that hid the computer. “I need you!”

The wall split in two, revealing the supercomputer. “Hello Rani. Maria. Jenny. How may I help you?”

“Pull up all UNIT files on the Unknown,” Jenny ordered, reaching into her pocket as she did so. Martha had taken a sample of Sky’s blood for testing, and had given half of it to Jenny. She stared at the vial of crimson liquid before stepping towards the computer. “Can you analyse this for DNA from the Unknown?”

A tray popped out in answer. She set the vial onto it.

‘ANALYSING …’ appeared on the screen in large letters.

“If you don’t know anything about the Unknown, how are you going to cure Sky?”

“… Good point.”

“20% DNA match,” Mr Smith pronounced.

“Can you search your databases for a match for the Unknown?” Jenny asked next, running a hand through her hair. Maria could be right; it could be impossible to cure Sky.

Hundreds of pictures flashed across the screen, the word ‘SEARCHING …’ covering them. A picture of the Unknown appeared, the ‘SEARCHING …’ changing to ‘MATCH FOUND’.

“The Rheugal,” Mr Smith said. “Of the planet Zon.”

“What are they?”

“Peaceful creatures. They open their planet to visitors from all over the galaxy.”

“But?”

“Upon arrival on Zon, the visitors are decontaminated, so not to spread disease on the planet. The Rheugal you currently hold had such a function.”

“Why did they come to Earth?” Rani asked.

“To invite humankind to visit their planet. They arrived at the wrong time period. The fault of the rift.”

“But why is it affecting Sky this way?” Jenny asked. “Surely it should be harmless.”

“The Rheugal mistook her for a human. The wrong decontamination process can be fatal.”

“Fatal?” Jenny echoed, hearts thumping. “Can we save her?”

“Only the Rheugal can undo what she has done. She will right her wrong once she understands that she has done it.”

“But we can’t communicate,” Jenny said, realising once more. “I’ve tried every language I know. So has Jack.”

“UNIT has translators,” said Rani all of a sudden, looking excited.

“Can you call Martha?” Jenny asked the computer.

“Certainly.”

The dialling tone, and then Martha's voice sounded, “ _Hello?_ ”

“Hi Martha!” the three girls called.

“ _Who’s there?_ ” Martha asked. “ _Am I on speaker?_ ”

“Sort of,” said Maria.

“I’m at Bannerman Road with Maria and Rani. Mr Smith called you.”

“ _Oh. Hi guys._ ”

“I found out what’s wrong with Sky,” Jenny said. “It was the Unknown. But I can’t communicate with her. I don’t know what language she speaks.”

“ _I can help with that,_ ” Martha said. “ _Stay where you are, I’ll be there in twenty._ ”

She hung up.

“Okay then.”

“Update UNIT files on the Unknown, please,” said Jenny, walking out of the room.

As promised, Martha arrived within half an hour, a hesitant smile on her face. “You can cure Sky?”

“I can cure Sky,” Jenny nodded.

“No time to lose, then. I’ll drive you back.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah. I hope that that’s plausible and everything. I’m not very good at writing clever plot things.


	15. Chapter Fifteen

* * *

_Chapter Fifteen_

* * *

 

 

“I think this calls for _How I Met Your Mother, what_ do you think?”

“Yeah,” Sky agreed, smiling as she allowed a throw to be placed over her.

“Marshmallows?” Jack called from the kitchen.

“Always add marshmallows,” Sky replied. “Hello Anwen.”

“Hi Sky,” the toddler replied, giggling at the rhyme she had made. Jenny picked her up, setting her on Sky’s lap.

“Luke’s coming down this weekend,” Gwen informed them, entering the sitting room with her phone in hand. “It’s the start of the Halloween break.”

“What’s Halloween?” Sky asked curiously. Jenny glanced up from the DVD pile, also interested.

“I’ll let Jack explain,” said Gwen, after a moment of deliberation. “You’re welcome.”

“Just because I’ve been around longer,” he muttered, setting the tray of hot chocolates on the coffee table, yet he smiled. He sat between Jenny and Sky while the former navigated the DVD menu. “It started off as a Druid festival. Samhain. They sacrificed animals and prayed for sunlight to return. Then it was believed that on that night, the walls between the living and the dead became thin, and that the dead could enter the land of the living. So they dressed as ghosts and monsters to prevent attacks. Now kids dress up as monsters and we have to give them sweets. All in all, a good holiday.”

“Interesting,” Jenny raised an eyebrow, pressing play.

“ _Kids …_ ” the narrator began.

“Pumpkins are involved, too,” Gwen put in, picking up her mug of hot chocolate from the tray and settling in an armchair. “Though how, I’m not quite sure …”

“To ward off spirits, probably.”

“Hmm.”

“ _How I Met Your Mother?_ ” Rhys questioned, appearing in the doorway.

“Yeah.”

“Come sit down. There’s hot chocolate.”

He complied, sitting in the unoccupied armchair and asking, “What’s happening?”

“Lily left Marshall and Ted and Robin are together.”

“Right.”

They watched intently, drinking their hot chocolate and laughing at the jokes.

 

* * *

 

“I come bearing coffee,” Jenny announced to the hub, stepping off the lift. As if these words were an incantation to summon the Welshwoman, Gwen appeared, taking her cup from the cardboard tray.

“Where's Zara?” Jenny asked.

“In the lab, I think.”

The Rheugal who had first made Sky ill and then cured her had been granted her freedom (or at least the run of the hub, as she would frighten the humans if she left it) until they could find a way to send her home. Zara (as she’d informed them her name was, thanks to the translator given to them by Martha) was particularly interested in the instruments and technology used by mankind.

“How’s Jack doing with his Vortex Manipulator?” she asked next. Gwen shrugged, downing a gulp of coffee before answering.

“Ask him yourself.”

The Vortex Manipulator seemed the best bet to return Zara to her home. None of the space ships that fell through the rift were functional. Jenny’s stolen shuttle was certainly of no more use than to repair another of the same build.

She knocked on the door, waiting for assent before she opened it. Jack was working on his Manipulator – fiddling with screws and wires.

“I’ve got coffee,” Jenny said, sitting in the chair on her side of the desk. “How’s it going?”

“Not great,” the captain (if only by stolen identity) replied, without looking up.

“I could help?” she offered.

“You probably could. Your father put this out of commission with his screwdriver,” he glanced up at her. “Could I …?”

“Sure,” Jenny replied, fishing the sonic lipstick out of her pocket and handing it over to him. Jack pointed it at the dismantled Vortex Manipulator, and the screen lit up.

“That’s it!” he exclaimed, delighted, as he handed the lipstick back to Jenny. “Zara can go home.”

“Can I come?” Jenny queried. The question seemed to surprise him, so she elaborated. “I haven’t seen a new planet since I got here. I’d like the chance.”

“If something goes wrong, we could end up stranded in a different planet. A different time.”

She grinned in response. “Isn’t that the point?”

Jack smiled back – an unwilling smile, a mere quirk in the corner of the lips. “All right. You can tell Zara.”

She stood, picking her coffee cup out of the tray and leaving the office.

Zara was overjoyed at the news, giving Jenny coordinates for Zon right away. The young Time Lady had to explain that it was not her who had the Vortex Manipulator and that they would not be leaving right away.

“Don’t tell Sky, or she’ll want to go too,” said Gwen.

“She should say her goodbyes though.”

“She should.”

* * *

 

Zon was a beautiful planet, Jenny decided, as soon as she had arrived on it. She disentangled herself from Jack and Zara’s arms – they all were required to touch the Vortex Manipulator, or at least each other. It was truly a sight to behold.

“I must give you the treatment before we continue,” Zara informed them. “Will the human decontaminant suffice for you, Captain?”

“Yes, it should.”

The Rheugal placed her hand on Jack’s head, and a faint purple pulse appeared on his skin for a brief moment.

“I have never performed this treatment on a Time Lord before,” Zara admitted, turning to Jenny, her large eyes unblinking. “I hope I can do it correctly.”

“I’m sure you will,” she smiled, allowing the Rheugal to place her hand on her head. She pulsed orange, from what she could see, and felt no different.

“Thank you, Zara,” Jenny inclined her head.

“I shall inform my family of my safe return and find you a tour guide. Wait here.”

“Do we have a way to get home?”

Jack frowned at her. “You see it as home?”

“Of course. I’ve been there for months, Jack. I have friends, some kind of family, a job and somewhere to live. What else would be my home?”

“Adria?”

“Pit stop.”

“The TARDIS?”

“Never been on it. It probably would’ve been, but …”

“Cobb,” Jack finished for her, understanding in his eyes.

“Yeah.”

“You should have a TARDIS of your own,” he said decisively. “From what I know of the Time Lords, most of them had a TARDIS.”

Jenny quirked an eyebrow. “Is this going anywhere?”

“I have a … coral. From the TARDIS. In time, it should grow into one. It would take a while, maybe a hundred years, but …”

Jenny stared blankly at him.

“I think you should have it,” he finished.

“Are you sure?” she asked tentatively.

He shot her a glance. “Do you think I know how to fly a TARDIS? What would I do with it?”

She laughed, hugging him in thanks.

“Plus,” Jack continued, as they broke apart. “You need something to replace your shuttle, and this is the best I can do.”

“Excuse me?”

The two of them turned to face the Rheugal who had appeared to show them around the planet.

“My name is Zack,” he informed them. “What are yours?”

“I’m Jenny, this is Jack.”

“Pleased to meet you, Jenny and Jack,” Zack inclined his head in something like a bow. “May I say that you are a lovely couple?”

“You may,” Jenny replied, almost smiling at the assumption. People generally assumed that she and Luke were a couple, but never her and Jack. “But we’re not a couple.”

“My apologies,” said the Rheugal. “If you will follow me …”

Jenny had been correct; Zon was beautiful. There were many monuments and tokens to the planet’s history. The sky was a pale pink as Earth’s was at dawn, and the grass a deep blue colour. There were four suns, one for each direction, and the clouds were lazy brush strokes against the pink canvas of the sky; those were the same colour as Earth’s clouds.

“We’re coming back when I get my TARDIS,” she decided.

Jack arched an eyebrow. “‘We’?”

“I can hardly go on my own now, can I?”

He laughed softly. “No. I suppose you can’t.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jenny needs her own companions, right?


	16. Chapter Sixteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As an only child with cousins who are all older than her, my characterisation of Anwen is probably way off. Apologies.

 

* * *

_Chapter Sixteen_

* * *

 

November, and Winter with it, approached with startling speed, until it was only a week away. The end of October promised Halloween, and the first holiday Jenny would celebrate on earth. She was looking forward to this experience, perhaps more than she cared to admit. So it was that she and Sky (who was possibly more enthused than she) had gone completely overboard, at least in Gwen’s eyes. The girls had decorated the house in honour of the occasion; fake cobwebs hanging from every available surface, a carved pumpkin sitting rather sinisterly on the windowsill, a witch that cackled evilly in greeting when the front door was opened, and a sign wishing them a Happy Halloween hanging in the living room.

 

They had made plans for All Hallows Eve in itself, too. They were to participate in the tradition of Trick or Treating (Jenny with the ready-made excuse of looking after Sky if eyebrows were raised on the topic of her age), dressed as aliens, as Luke had encouraged them. The irony was amusing, true, but the human idea of what an alien was confused her. Their costumes set them as green figures with large, black eyes. She had never met such an alien in her (though limited) travels. When they returned from the task, they would eat their rewards, and watch horror movies with Gwen, Rhys, Luke, Charlie and an eventually coerced Captain Jack Harkness. The inclusion of the latter had been Sky’s idea, with the statement no one could argue against: “He’d be alone otherwise.”

 

Luke Smith was currently on the train from Oxford, making his way home for the week-long break away from College life and the stress of exams. Charles Davidson, stubborn as ever, was not far behind. In reaction to the request to stay in Cardiff for the week, Gwen had merely sighed, acquiesced, and left promptly to buy a camp bed, which was set up in Anwen’s room and where Sky would sleep. Jenny would reunite with her old friend the sofa, and Luke and Charlie would take the guest room. It was the sensible thing to do.

 

Jenny and Sky were sitting on the sofa, watching _How I Met Your Mother_ to while away the time until it was deemed suitable to go and meet Luke and Charlie at the train station. Rhys would drive them, but he was on a grocery run, leaving them with no option but to wait.

 

And wait.

 

And wait.

 

“What’s taking so long?” asked Sky impatiently, as the credits rolled for another episode and Jenny searched for the remote to skip to the next.

 

“It’s not even one yet,” answered the Time Lady sensibly, but she too was anxious to see her friends. “The train doesn’t come in ‘till half past.”

 

Sky looked awed, and annoyed. “It’s that early?”

 

“‘Fraid so, kiddo.”

 

Fortunately for them, with their frayed patience, Rhys’s arrival was heralded by the sound of an engine, a door slamming, another opening, and a witch’s cackle. Sky switched the TV off.

 

“Hey Rhys,” Jenny greeted.

 

It wasn’t Rhys who emerged from the hallway, however, but Anwen, running on her pudgy toddler feet and beaming as she usually did. She had another tooth, Jenny noticed.

 

“Hello Anwen!”

 

“Auntie Jemmy!” she exclaimed, as though she hadn’t just seen them three quarters of an hour previously. “Auntie Sky!”

 

Jenny scooped the child up, setting her down on the couch between her and Sky. Rhys came next, carrying shopping bags and wearing a smile.

 

“Place was packed,” he announced. “Who knew Halloween was as big as Christmas nowadays, eh?”

 

They stared at him blankly.

 

“We don’t know what it used to be like …”

 

He shook his head. “Never mind.”

 

“We still have things to learn, I guess,” Sky shrugged, as Rhys deposited the groceries in the kitchen. She turned to Anwen. “How was your day?”

 

“Great!” she exclaimed. “An ol’ woman said I was _ador_ able.”

 

“Well, aren’t you a superstar?” said Jenny, reaching out to tickle the toddler. She squealed and squirmed, trying to escape the older girl’s clutches.

 

“Ready to go?” asked Rhys, re-emerging from the kitchen.

 

Jenny stopped tickling Anwen immediately, picking her up instead. She stood up beside Sky, the young girl held against her hip, and her ready handbag hanging on her other arm.

 

“Since this morning,” said Sky, and she started to giggle as the four of them left the house.

 

Anwen sat happily on her booster seat next to Sky, playing with the plush flubble Jenny had brought back for her from Zon.

 

“It’ll be a bit of a squeeze,” frowned Jenny, having only just realised the fact. Fitting six people into a five-seater car was always a challenge. “You’ll have to sit on my knees, Anwen.”

 

“Okay,” she replied.

 

It took only a short time to reach the train station. They could have walked, but with the boys’ baggage, it was inadvisable.

 

“I’ll wait here,” Rhys told them. “You can take Anwen with you if you want.”

 

“Would you like to come with us, Anwen?”

 

“Yeah!” she nodded, more enthusiastically than was necessary.

 

“Okay,” said Sky, picking up the girl, saying goodbye to Rhys (Anwen adding a, “Bye bye Da.”) and leaving. Jenny, with her own goodbye, followed.

 

They reached the platform, where a few other people had gathered, presumably to greet other loved ones as they returned. The train had not yet arrived.

 

“Why hasn’t Charlie ever come before?” Sky asked suddenly, chewing on her bottom lip as she contemplated the question.

 

“They probably weren’t good enough friends when Luke last came home. And plus, there were plenty of alien things to be dealing with. A bit of a giveaway, don’t you think?”

 

Sky nodded slowly. “But he knows now?”

 

“He knows now,” she confirmed.

 

Sky repositioned Anwen in her arms. “How did he find out?”

 

“My pulse,” Jenny replied, offering her wrist to be felt.

 

Sky placed two finger atop of it, as she had learned from television and other people. “It’s faster than mine.”

 

“Exactly. Two hearts.”

 

The sound of the horn that heralded the train interrupted their conversation. Immediately, they stepped closer to the edge of the platform, watching the train pulling in dizzyingly. Sky passed Anwen over to Jenny, stepping even closer.

 

Eventually, the long vehicle stopped, and the doors opened. Jenny and Sky searched the crowds intently, looking for their friends (and brother, in the case of the latter). Eventually, they found them, Luke with his rucksack slung over one shoulder, a smaller bag in one hand, and a scarf knotted loosely around his neck,Charlie with one large bag in hand, and a pair of square-framed glasses. Luke reached them first, and, after dropping his bags, hugged Sky with such enthusiasm that he lifted her from her feet and she squealed to be put down. After releasing her, he gave Jenny a one-armed hug, adding a kiss on the cheek as they broke apart. He kissed Anwen’s cheek too, and she hugged him as much as she could with her little arms.

 

“I didn’t know you wore glasses,” was Jenny’s greeting to the other young man. He adjusted them upon their mention.

 

“I usually use contacts,” he replied.

 

She nodded. “They suit you.”

 

“Thanks.”

 

Anwen broke the ensuing silence by asking, “Who that?”

 

“Anwen, this is Charlie,” said Jenny. “Charlie, meet Anwen. Gwen and Rhys’s daughter.”

 

“It’s nice to meet you,” smiled Charlie, offering his hand to her. She grabbed onto three of his fingers and shook with as much vigour as she could. Charlie laughed. “Good strong grip you got there, Anwen.”

 

“She’s gonna be a woman to be reckoned with someday,” Luke agreed.

 

Charlie turned to face his friend. “And this must be Sky,” he said. The Flesh Kind nodded, smiling slightly from where she stood next to her brother. “It’s nice to see you looking well, Sky. Pleased to meet you.”

 

“Likewise,” she replied, smile growing in confidence as they shook hands.

 

“How are we getting back?” asked Luke, swinging his rucksack over his shoulder again.

 

“We walk,” replied Jenny cheerfully.

 

Charlie gaped at her. “You’re making us _walk_? After a terribly tiring journey? Weighed down by all this _very_ heavy luggage?”

 

Jenny rolled her eyes at him, and Sky, giggling, said, “We only have to walk to the car park. Jenny’s just messing.”

 

The Time Lady huffed dramatically as they started to walk. “Way to blow my cover, Sky!”

 

Rhys was leaning against the car, arms folded, when they returned. He greeted Luke, introduced himself to Charlie, and immediately struck up a conversation that included the four of them.

 

“Have you ever been to Wales before, Charlie?” asked Sky interestedly.

 

“I went to Plymouth with my parents when I was a kid, but not since then, and never to Cardiff.”

 

“Aren’t your parents mad you’re not spending the holidays with them?” Jenny frowned.

 

He laughed. “They’re glad to be rid of me, I’d say.”

 

Luke nodded. “I’ve met them; that’s true.”

 

Rhys pulled up outside the house, and Jenny announced it to be the place where they had all managed to squeeze themselves into.

 

“It’s not that small,” Luke admonished, as she passed Anwen over to him and got out of the car.

 

“Three bedroom,” Sky agreed.

 

“Seven people,” Jenny countered, taking Anwen back and leaving the other three to their own devices.

 

Gwen was not yet home. It was a quiet day at the hub, and she had gone to keep Jack company more than anything. Rhys unlocked the door, the witch cackled, and Jenny set Anwen down. The girl ran ahead through the hallway, the lights on her trainers flashing.

 

The boys and Sky joined her after a moment, and they stood in the doorway.

 

“Nice decorations,” Charlie complimented.

 

“I’ll give you the tour,” said Jenny. She turned back to the Smith siblings, addressing Sky. “We’ve been here for three months now, can you imagine?”

 

Luke smiled. “You won’t find it ‘till it’s a year. Then you’ll be like proper humans.”

 

“Oi!” both of them exclaimed at once, but their smiles gave them away.

 

“I’m never going to get used to the fact that all of you are _aliens,_ ” Charlie lamented.


	17. Chapter Seventeen

 

* * *

_Chapter Seventeen_

* * *

 

“We come bearing sweets!” announced Jenny, loud enough to drown out the cackling of the witch, as she and Sky entered the house.

 

“Lots and lots of sweets!”

 

Luke and Charlie were sitting on the sofa, the former flipping lazily through TV channels. Anwen sat near their feet, happily playing with a toy. Noises from the kitchen told Jenny that either Gwen or Rhys, or perhaps both of them, were there.

 

“Where did you go?” asked Luke, in lieu of a greeting.

 

“Just around apartments and stuff,” Jenny replied, pulling of her mask and shaking out her hair. She plopped down on the sofa between them. “Miss us?”

 

“Terribly,” said Charlie.

 

Jenny narrowed her eyes at him. “Hmm.”

 

Sky knelt on the floor in front of Anwen and started pulling funny faces through her mask. Jenny reached into the pumpkin-shaped container for a sweet.

 

“When’s Jack coming over?” asked Sky.

 

Jenny shrugged. Luke checked the time on the TV screen.

 

“Half an hour,” he said.

 

“Seriously, _how_ do you do that?”

 

“Alien technology.”

 

“How are you okay with this stuff?” Charlie called to the kitchen.

 

“Years of experience,” Gwen called back. Charlie merely shook his head.

 

When Anwen lost interest in her, Sky stood up and made her way down the hall, presumably to change out of her costume.

 

“Anything good on?” Jenny asked Luke.

 

“No.”

 

Charlie sighed. “Obviously neither of you know the definition of ‘good’. Give me that.” He took the remote from Luke, changing the channel.

 

Jenny squinted at the screen. “What the hell is that?”

 

“You don’t know?”

 

“No.”

 

“It’s _The Big Bang Theory._ A sit-com. Like that mother of yours.”

 

“ _How I Met Your Mother,_ ” she corrected.

 

“Yeah, that.”

 

“What’s it about?”

 

“Just watch it. It’s funny. I promise.”

 

Several moments later, Sky returned, dressed in a sweater and jeans, all traces of her costume gone. She squeezed herself onto the sofa.

 

“What’s that?” she asked immediately.

 

“ _The Big Bang Theory_ ,” Luke told her. “Apparently we’re all idiots when it comes to TV, and Charlie’s gonna teach us.”

 

Sky, after leaning around her brother to give Charlie a ‘we’re not idiots you idiot’ look, before saying brightly, “Okay!”

 

They watched intently until Jack arrived.

 

“I’ll get it,” Jenny announced, when the doorbell rang.

 

“When are you going to get rid of that thing?” he grumbled, instead of a greeting, obviously meaning the witch that hung on the wall.

 

“Hello to you too,” Jenny smiled. “Happy Halloween.”

 

He rolled his eyes. “Happy Halloween.”

 

They made their way into the living room, where Jack was greeted by the others, and Charlie said, “Finally, we can watch this movie.”

 

“Which movie _are_ we gonna watch?” Jenny asked.

 

“… We did not think of that.”

 

Shaking her head and muttering “idiots” under her breath, Jenny went into the kitchen. Gwen was busy adding milk to a host of mugs.

 

“Hot chocolate?” she asked Gwen, who nodded.

 

“Need help?” she asked next, this time receiving a shake of the head in response.

 

Returning to the living room, she knelt before the TV, placing the stack of DVDs in front of her. Jack had disappeared. Luke and Sky were sitting side by side on the sofa, with Charlie at their feet.

 

“Okay!” she called, rocking back on her heels. “Movie nominations please!”

 

“ _The Nightmare Before Christmas,_ ” said Charlie immediately.

“Something scary,” Sky added.

 

“Care to narrow that down?” Jenny asked her adoptive sister, who shrugged. “All right, tell me about this nightmare.”

 

“It’s a Tim Burton.”

 

“We’re aliens, Charlie. You’re going to have to explain to us what that means.”

 

“It sounds like a Christmas movie,” said Sky, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.

 

“What’s it like?” asked Luke.

 

“It’s good.”

 

“Any other suggestions?” Jenny pressed them.

 

“Something scary,” Sky repeated.

 

“Anything else?”

 

 

“All right,” she sighed. “ _The Nightmare Before Christmas_ it is.”

 

“Yes!” Charlie exclaimed, as if he had won something. Sky glared.

 

“He was right about _The Big Bang Theory,_ ” Luke reminded her.

 

Jenny located the DVD that Charlie had referenced, popped it into the player, and sat down on the sofa.

 

Charlie stretched his arm out to her, hand clenched into a fist.

 

“Come on,” he whined. “Don’t leave me hanging.”

 

With a sigh and an eye-roll, she made a fist of her own and tapped her knuckles against his.

 

“I still don’t understand that,” she told Luke, who had tried to explain to her what he called ‘fist bumping’.

 

“Neither do I,” he replied.

 

She let the menu replay itself until Gwen, Rhys and Jack returned, and they all had a mug of hot chocolate in their hands.

 

“Here goes,” she muttered to herself.


	18. Chapter Eighteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas Eve Eve! XD
> 
> I’m fondly naming this one ‘The Alien who Stole Christmas’, though I can't title them all. Titles are hard *points to the title of this story*
> 
> Hope you enjoy :)

* * *

_Chapter Eighteen_

_The Alien who Stole Christmas_

_Part One_

* * *

 

“Not long until Luke’s back again,” said Jenny, almost in disbelief, as she sat before Sky, who was spinning herself in lazy circles in her chair. Their first Christmas on planet Earth was almost upon them, which meant another holiday in which Luke had time away from college.

 

The Torchwood Hub was quiet; Jack in his office and Gwen on a coffee run, as it was to be a late night for them.

 

An epidemic had manifested itself over Cardiff city. The happy Christmas shoppers were suddenly poisoned by something that altered their behaviour, making them aggressive and unpredictable. It was only the Christmas shoppers, and only the people who had visited a certain shopping centre. It was their job (in collaboration with UNIT if they were needed) to find out where the problem was coming from, and whether or not it was alien. If it was, then they would have to deal with it. If not, they could turn it over to the normal authorities. (“But that never happens,” said Gwen).

 

“Good,” Sky smiled, dragging her feet across the ground to stop her chair.

 

“You miss him?”

 

“Of course. But I’ve got you guys; it’s not so bad.”

 

Jenny smiled at her adoptive sister, who she had grown so close to in the matter of five short months. Coming to think of her as an adoptive sister was a dramatic leap. She had tried (though admittedly not very hard) to distance herself from the people of Adria, fearful that she would become attached to the planet. Now she couldn’t imagine ever leaving Earth. A problem, for a traveller such as herself. She could always return, at least.

 

She turned her attention back to her computer, which was currently showing the CCTV of the local shopping centre for the past two weeks. The difference between shoppers entering and exiting the multi-storey building was striking. It wasn’t all of them, which suggested that it was one shop in particular that was causing it. If they could figure out what, then they could investigate it.

 

It was figuring out what the source was that proved difficult. Whatever it was that affected the people did not manifest itself immediately, which meant that she would have to follow several individual shoppers and compare the times. A tough job, likely bestowed upon her by her superior observation skills. Sky was to help her, though the girl was distracted. That day marked the start of her Christmas holidays, and she was eagerly awaiting the forecast snow.

 

She didn’t have to wait long. The lift made its way down, carrying a snow-covered and slightly disgruntled Gwen.

 

“Well the weather wasn’t lying,” she announced, stepping off the lift and placing the cardboard tray of coffees between Jenny and Sky.

 

“Were they still open?” asked Jenny, selecting her beverage and taking a measured sip.

 

“Just closing up. Took some persuading and a _very_ generous tip.”

 

“What’s the snow like?” Sky questioned, watching the flakes in Gwen’s hair melt with avid fascination.

 

“Go and see for yourself.”

 

“Okay!” the young Flesh Kind beamed. “Jenny, are you coming?”

 

“Sure,” she replied, setting her coffee back on the table. She was interested in the snow herself, though perhaps not so much as Sky. And a break from the CCTV would not be unwelcome.

 

“Make sure you bundle up,” Gwen warned them, in true mother fashion. The two young girls pulled on hats, coats and scarves, and ventured outside the hub.

 

Snow was falling from the sky in large, fat flakes, clinging to their clothing and the ground around them. Sky laughed aloud, opening her mouth to catch a snowflake on her tongue.

 

“Isn’t it wonderful?” she beamed.

 

“It’s beautiful.”

 

She allowed Sky to dance around in the snow for several minutes, just watching, before persuading the younger girl to return inside.

 

“I see you’ve met Jack Frost,” said Jack, who had emerged from his office, it seemed, with the promise of coffee, regarding the two of them with amusement as they took grateful gulps of their respective beverages.

 

Sky frowned at him. “Who?”

 

“A legend,” Gwen explained to her. “He’s meant to be responsible for cold weather, and everything that comes with it.”

 

“Okay,” she said, digesting the information. Then she returned her attention to Jack. “Does Christmas have good stories?”

 

“Plenty. But _this_ Christmas won’t unless we do something about it.”

 

Taking the not-so-subtle hint, Sky sighed. “All right. Jenny?”

 

The Time Lady nodded, sitting down in her chair and bringing back up the CCTV footage.

 

* * *

 

 

“I think we’ve found something,” Jenny announced, as the time approached one o’ clock in the morning.

 

“What?” asked Gwen, abandoning the files she’d been looking through to glance over Jenny’s shoulder at the computer screen.

 

“We followed ten different people,” explained Sky, gesturing to the ten freeze-frame shots displayed on her monitor. “And it takes about twenty minutes for the symptoms to materialise.”

 

“They were all in the same shop twenty minutes before they started freaking out,” Jenny finished, pulling up the shots they’d picked out of each of the ten people browsing through the _Boots_ store. “And they all tried the same perfume … offered to them by _this_ woman here,” she zoomed in on the CCTV shot of a young woman with short red hair.

 

“We’re thinking alien?” asked Gwen.

 

Jenny scoffed. “We’re always thinking alien.”

 

“Let’s go tell Jack,” Sky added, collecting a printout of the CCTV shot of the redhead.

 

The three of them journeyed upstairs to Jack’s office. He glanced up from his computer screen, smiling at the sight of them.

 

“I assume you have good news for me?”

 

“We know exactly which shop is causing all this, and possibly the person behind it,” said Jenny, as Sky placed the printout on Jack’s desk.

 

The Torchwood leader studied the picture, before setting it back down.

 

“Excellent,” he smiled, standing up and pulling on his long coat. “Okay, go home, get some rest, and we’ll look into this tomorrow.”

 

Gwen and Sky left the office, put Jenny remained, watching with a frown as Jack switched everything off.

 

“Where are you going?” she asked eventually.

 

“Home.”

 

“ _Home?_ ”

 

“That’s what I said.”

 

She narrowed her eyes. “I thought you didn’t _have_ a home.”

 

“Don’t let it go to your head,” he said, flicking off the lamp and leaving them in partial darkness.

 

“Let what go to my head?” asked Jenny, as they went downstairs.

 

“I’m renting an apartment, not too far away.”

 

She smiled at him. “Good.”

 

“Good?” he echoed.

 

“It’s not right for you to spend all your time here. Too many memories. Some of them good, I’m sure, but …”

 

He nodded as if he understood. They reached the bottom of the stairs. Gwen looked as though she was ready to leave, but Sky was still sitting at her computer.

 

“I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

 

Jack nodded. “Tomorrow.”


	19. Chapter Nineteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas Eve! :3 Hope you enjoy. I still haven’t entirely got the whole ‘adventure’ thing down. Soon. Maybe.

* * *

_Chapter Nineteen_

_The Alien who Stole Christmas_

_Part Two_

* * *

 

 

“Did you call Jack?” asked Jenny, buttering a slice of toast. It had snowed heavily the previous night, making it nearly impossible for any of them to leave the house. It was very unlikely that the shopping centre would be open. Their investigation would have to be put on hold.

 

“Yes, I did,” replied Gwen, looking confused. “He’s walking over later on. But he wasn’t in the hub.”

 

“Oh yeah, I forgot to mention. He told me he was renting a place nearby.”

 

Gwen stared at her. “This is _Jack_ we’re talking about, right?”

 

Jenny laughed. “Apparently.”

 

“What did you _do_ to him while he was here?”

 

“Hey, I was just trying to get him to stop drinking, not turn him into an actual human being.”

 

“Morning,” said Sky with a yawn, shuffling slipper-clad into the kitchen and sitting next to Jenny. “Is it a snow day?”

 

“Looks like it.”

 

“Mhmm,” she murmured, too tired to be excited. “My first one.”

 

“So what do you do on a snow day?” Jenny asked Gwen.

 

“Me?” she raised her eyebrows. “I stay inside and watch telly. _Children_ , you go outside and build snowmen and have snowball fights. If there’s a hill, you can sled down it.”

 

Sky cocked her head to the side, brown eyes curious. “What are snowmen?”

 

Gwen sighed. “Come outside and I’ll show you.”

 

* * *

 

 

“So,” said Jack, a twinkle of amusement in his eyes as he sat on the coffee table and ignored their protests that he was in the way of the television. “I’m guessing you’re not up for investigation.”

 

Sky blew her nose loudly. Jenny sent her most withering glare at her boss.

 

“Do we _look_ like we’re up for investigation?”

 

He laughed. “As I suspected. Never mind, I’ll just have to stay here and watch TV with you.”

 

“Jack!” Sky cried, annoyed, as he promptly plopped himself on the sofa between them.

 

“What?”

 

The Flesh Kind rolled her eyes. “You’re impossible.”

 

“Not impossible,” Jenny murmured, almost to herself. “Just a bit unlikely.”

 

“Exactly!” Jack beamed.

 

“That’s not what I—” she sighed, changing tactics. “You’re not even meant to exist. Fixed points in time are not … _captains._ ”

 

“I’m actually not a captain. Stole that title.”

 

“Of course you did.”

 

“Why am I not surprised,” Sky chipped in.

 

Jack folded his arms, an exaggerated pout on his face.

 

* * *

 

 

Several days later, most of the snow had melted away, they had received a message from Luke informing that he would be returning home on Saturday, and they were ready to investigate the suspicious redhead at the _Boots_ store.

 

Jenny and Sky, arms ladened with bags, approached the store rather warily. Jack was monitoring the CCTV, and Gwen was nearby, ready to intervene if necessary.

 

They wandered among the shelves, chatting about insignificant things, trying to act as two sisters going about their Christmas shopping.

 

It wasn’t long before they were approached by the woman, who smiled widely at them and asked if they’d like to sample a bestselling perfume, _Embrace._

 

“No thank you,” Jenny declined with a smile. “I come out in a rash.”

 

“Mum might like some though, wouldn’t she?” Sky chipped in.

 

“Yeah. What does it smell like?”

 

Nirvana – so the name sewed into her t-shirt said – held the bottle out to them. “See for yourself.”

 

Jenny took the half-empty glass bottle, giving it a calculated sniff, before passing it to Sky to do the same. Nothing _seemed_ off, so she merely handed it back and asked if she could purchase a bottle of _Embrace_.

Leaving the store, she and Sky sat on a bench next to Gwen.

 

“Are you all right?” she asked immediately.

 

“Yeah, we’re fine,” Jenny assured her.

 

“We got a sample,” Sky added, raising the _Boots_ bag.

 

“Well done.”

 

“Where’s Jack?”

 

“In the SUV,” Gwen answered. “C’mon, let’s get going.”

 

The trio exited the shopping centre, finding the SUV in the car park and piling into it.

 

“Nice work,” Jack complimented them with a grin. “I’m sure your mum will love her Christmas present.”

 

“Oh, shut up.”

 

* * *

 

 

“This is where the medical professionals came in handy,” said Jack with a wry smile, as they stood in the (as of yet unused) Torchwood lab.

 

“Well, what does it take to get a doctor to come to the dark side?” asked Jenny, raising her eyebrow.

 

“For Owen, it was an alien parasite inhabiting his fiancée’sbrain.”

 

The Time Lady winced. “Nasty.”

 

“You could call Martha?” Sky suggested.

 

“No. I can figure it out.”

 

Her words surprised even Jenny, but now she had to follow through with them. “I can’t have been given this brain for nothing. Clear out. Go on. See if you can get some Intel on this Nirvana. And where this perfume was supposed to have originated.”

 

Left alone in the lab with the bottle of perfume, she closed her eyes. Working through the situation in her brain was the best way to approach it. Surely some of her father’s extensive knowledge had transferred itself to her along with the knowhow required of a soldier. How could she separate the components of a liquid to figure out which one caused such erratic behaviour in humans?

 

And, just like that, she knew.

 

After a quick exploration of the lab, she had found the equipment and protective clothing required for what she needed to do. Securing her hair in a careless ponytail, she began.

 

Hours later, Sky leaned against a surface that was not in use, grinning at her friend.

 

Jenny squinted at the Flesh Kind over a test tube. “What?”

 

“What?”

 

“Why are you smiling like that?”

 

“It’s a good look on you,” she decided after a moment. “You look like one of those ones from the TV.”

 

“If I can figure out what’s going on here, then you can compliment me, okay?”

 

Sky was still smiling. “Okay.”

 

* * *

 

 

“I hear you had an eventful week,” said Luke with a grin, as he kissed the cheeks of both his sisters (in his eyes, at least).

 

“Are you talking about the snow or the crazy people?”

 

“Both.”

 

“Good assumption, then.”

 

“Well,” he said, the grin returning. “It’s a good thing I’m back, isn’t it?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s some trivia for you: Nirvana is not named for the band, but for a shark on Easter Eggs Live (it aired on Channel around Easter, and had live streams of all sorts of stuff hatching; chickens, frogs, emus and – you guessed it – sharks). We were waiting for weeks for Nirvana to make her appearance


	20. Chapter Twenty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas lovies!
> 
> Here we are, the twenty-chapter mark. This is officially the longest multi-chapter fic I have ever written (well, it has been for a few chapters, but twenty is more impressive, wouldn’t you say?). I’m pretty proud. Thank you so much for sticking with me. Here’s to the next twenty!
> 
> Disclaimer: History things are from my general knowledge (if I research it might come across that way rather than general knowledge, so …)

* * *

_Chapter Twenty_

* * *

 

“What _is_ Christmas?” asked Sky, on the twenty-first of December, as she, Jenny, Luke, Gwen, Rhys and Jack sat down to start the third season of _How I Met Your Mother_ , an early Christmas gift to her from Gwen.

 

Gwen, Rhys and Jack exchanged brief looks, before Gwen announced that she was making hot chocolate, and Rhys that he had to check on Anwen.

 

“Just because I’ve lived longer,” Jack grumbled.

 

“Hey, it’s not our fault,” Jenny replied, as Sky leaned into her shoulder. “How are we supposed to know this stuff?”

 

“Books? The internet? Asking anyone else but _me_.”

 

Sky looked at Jack with an exaggerated pout. “ _Please?_ ”

 

“Fine,” Jack sighed heavily, though he smiled. “It started as a Pagan tradition, I think. The Winter Solstice. They prayed for the sun to return. Then Christianity became popular, and to try and get Pagans to join their religion, they pegged it as Jesus’ birthday.”

 

“What’s Christmas nowadays, then?” asked Luke.

 

A sly grin spread across Jack's face. “A party.”

 

* * *

 

 

“Think you’ve got enough tinsel?” asked Gwen, with an amused smile, from where she observed Jenny and Sky’s work. They were turning the hub into a bright, cheery, Christmas-y place.

 

Jenny shot the Welshwoman a sardonic look from the top of the step-ladder. “After Halloween, are you really surprised?”

 

“To be honest, no,” she replied. “If you want to come down from your perch, there’s coffee.”

 

“Where’s Jack?” asked Sky, selecting her drink, and noticing that there were only three.

 

“Looking for a Christmas tree.”

 

“Seriously?” Jenny had reached the ground, and was now gaping at Gwen. “I was _joking._ ”

 

“Tell him that.”

 

“Have we got baubles?”

 

Gwen sighed heavily. “There’s some in the attic. We won’t use them all on our tree.”

 

“When are we getting _our_ tree?” Jenny frowned.

 

“I gave Jack a few quid, so hopefully that’s sorted it,” said Gwen, taking a measured sip of her coffee. She grimaced.

 

“What’s wrong?” asked Sky, ever observant.

 

“It tastes … awful.”

 

“Maybe they gave you the wrong order,” Jenny suggested, thought it seemed unlikely. They had been visiting that same coffee shop for months; their orders were known well.

 

“Maybe.” Gwen didn’t sound convinced. “I’ll go home, get them baubles, and make myself a _proper_ brew. Think you two can manage not to do any serious damage?”

 

Jenny smiled cheerily. “No promises!”

 

Gwen rolled her eyes and made her retreat.

 

Sky frowned at her coffee cup. “Mine tastes all right.”

 

“Think there’s something wrong with Gwen?”

 

“I hope not,” Sky’s brown eyes were earnest. “It must be awful to be sick at Christmas.”

 

“Yeah,” Jenny murmured absently, glancing around the hub. “It must be.”

 

“What’s wrong?” Sky pulled herself onto the table where their coffee cups rested.

 

“People are supposed to spend Christmas with their families, right? Well … I don’t have a family. Not a proper one, at least. I never have.”

 

Sky wrapped her arms around her from where she was sitting. “You’ve got us.”

 

“Thanks, kiddo,” Jenny murmured into her hair. They broke apart. “Now, where are we gonna put the tree?”

 

Sky's face was thoughtful. "The corner?"

 

* * *

 

 

“Gwen?” Jenny asked cautiously, as she approached the woman. Gwen, in the middle of something that involved lots of pieces of paper and a calculator (Christmas budgeting, she would later find out), looked up, an amused look on her face.

 

“What’s wrong? I don’t look that formidable in reading glasses, do I?”

 

Jenny laughed. “I was wondering if we could have a Christmas party.”

 

“In the house?”

 

“Or the hub?”

 

“The hub?” Gwen repeated. “How many people are you planning on _inviting_?”

 

“Martha, Mickey, Amy and Rory, and River,” she added as an almost afterthought. “If she’s in the country … or on the planet. It’s not an issue of space. I just thought it might be nicer.”

 

Another twinkle of amusement shined in Gwen’s eyes. “Are you saying the house isn’t nice?”

 

This time, Jenny was prepared for the teasing. She folded her arms. “So what if I am?”

 

Gwen sighed, shaking her head. “It’s because of the Christmas tree, isn’t it? I shouldn’t have let Jack buy it.”

 

“We may have also decorated the hub just a little bit better.”

 

“I’m sure Jack would be fine with it,” she offered a smile, pulling her glasses back down. “Now, shoo, I have to figure out how much I have to spend on a turkey.”

 

* * *

 

 

“So,” said Jenny, unwrapping a candy cane as she leaned over Luke’s shoulder. He side-eyed her. “What are you doing?”

 

“Coursework,” he replied, deadpan, typing on his laptop at the kitchen table.

 

She plopped down on the chair beside him. “At Christmas?”

 

“It’s the twenty-fourth of December.”

 

“Otherwise known as Christmas Eve,” Jenny frowned. “C’mon. Take a break, at least.”

 

He ignored her.

 

“ _Please_? Do it for Sky, if not me. She doesn’t have you for long before you have to go back and be swamped in work. And the last while hasn’t exactly been a picnic for her.”

 

This caused Luke to look up, for the first time. His lip quirked. An almost-smile. “Emotional blackmail. Very human.”

 

She beamed. “I try.”

 

* * *

 

 

Christmas dinner was a grand affair of turkey, stuffing, and vegetables that reminded Jenny of cabbages.

 

(“Brussel sprouts,” said Rhys, almost gently, as Sky squinted at the vegetable, attempting to describe them as “weird green things”.)

 

Jack joined them, with quite a lot of persuasion, and just the right amount of blackmail, on Gwen’s part. So they had a party of seven for dinner (including Anwen, who had nothing but distaste towards the Brussel sprouts.)

 

After dinner, they opened the pile of gifts that had accumulated under the Christmas tree. Jenny was gifted a novel, a paper maché TARDIS ( _I made it when I was a little girl – Amy_ , read the note that was attached to it), a woolly hat (which she pulled over her ears with a grin) a lab coat (she glared at Jack, and he laughed. “But you made such a good scientist!”), a computer game that she could plug into her laptop, and a dress.

 

“Not a bad Christmas, huh?” asked Luke, sitting next to her on the sofa. The day had wound down, with Anwen in bed, and everyone else watching _It’s a Wonderful Life_.

 

“I don’t have any to compare it to,” Jenny replied, hugging the cushion a little closer to her chest. “But I liked it. What about you?”

 

He nodded, glancing unsurreptitiously at Sky. Jenny understood. The last time Luke had celebrated Christmas, his sister hadn’t been there, and his mother had.

 

“Luke,” she murmured softly. His head snapped around to meet her eyes. She didn’t say anything about Sarah Jane or Sky; instead, she smiled. “Merry Christmas.”

 

* * *

 

 

“What _is_ this?” asked Jenny, squinting at the tiny glass – that reminded her too much of a shot glass for her own liking – in her hand.

 

“Eggnog,” Amy replied, as she breezed past, tinsel flying after her. “You drink it.”

 

“Is it alcoholic?”

 

“Very,” Martha grinned. Jenny placed the glass in her hands, with a muttered, “Never doing that again.” Jack, who must have heard, laughed. Martha narrowed her eyes at him.

 

“What?”

 

“You got her drunk.”

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

 

Martha placed a protective arm around Jenny’s shoulders. The latter laughed, but provided an explanation. “I got _myself_ drunk.”

 

“Hmm.” She didn’t seem convinced. “And Jack had nothing to do with it, I suppose.”

 

“It was her idea,” Gwen defended, as she, too, passed by. She was organising food, while Amy ‘fixed’ the decorations (Sky still looked scandalised). “I did warn her against it.”

 

“Apparently, most human twenty-one year olds drink a lot. I wanted to see what it was like.”

 

Martha scoffed. “I could’ve told you that. But here,” she handed her back the eggnog. “It’s good; promise. And we’ll keep an eye on you.”

 

She left, with a smile, to aid Gwen. Jenny took a measured sip of the drink, pleasantly surprised that Martha’s promise was true. She set down the empty glass, and promised herself she wouldn’t get drunk on Boxing Day.

 

She kept it.

 

 

Well, she’d never have agreed to Martha’s most blatant blackmail if she hadn’t been the slightest bit tipsy. She held a mistletoe branch over Jenny and Luke’s heads, and Gwen took pictures.

 

It wasn’t a bad kiss, as they went. Then again, she’d only ever kissed one other person, and that had been to break her, her father and Donna out of prison.

 

“Make sure Maria isn’t jealous of me, all right?” she said, grinning.

 

“We’re not together,” he replied, somewhat sheepishly. She sighed a long-suffering sigh.

 

“For God’s sake, Luke! _That_ would be a much better use of mistletoe.”

 

Luke’s sheepishness was immediately replaced by defensiveness. “Hey! I take offence!”

 

Jenny patted his head (she had to stand on her tiptoes to reach it). “You were an _amazing_ kisser, how’s that?”

 

“Better.”

 

She watched from a slight distance as the, wondering where her father was, and what danger he was celebrating Christmas with. She fiddled with her mobile phone, wondering if it was worth her while to leave another message on top of the pile of others.

 

“Hey.”

 

Jenny jumped, shoving her phone into her pocket as though the blank screen were something to be hidden. Jack looked at her for a few seconds.

 

“I’m sure he’s all right.” He paused, smiling. “Well, I can’t promise he’s not currently running for his life, but I’m sure he’s all right.”

 

“I hope so,” she murmured. “Having no companions is dangerous for him, right?”

 

Jack sighed. “Rose was – she was special. He loved her. And losing her – it affected him. Life as long as ours are, you get to lose a lot of people.”

 

She smiled wryly. “I’m not looking forward to it.”

 

“Merry Christmas,” said Jack, after a brief lapse of silence. She refrained from correcting him. It was the Christmas party, after all. He held something out to her. A present. She raised her eyebrows.

 

“I’m not _that_ bad,” he offered in explanation. She took the box from him, unwrapping it. Another arched eyebrow.

 

“In the spirit of the season.”

 

She touched a finger to the ornate snowflake attached to the necklace. If she wasn’t mistaken – and she rarely ever was – those were real diamonds. But it was Christmas, and she was ever so slightly drunk, so she didn’t argue; merely allowed him to fasten it around her neck.

 

“Merry Christmas,” she replied, turning her gaze to the Christmas tree, and staring until the lights blurred before her eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a little more melancholic than I'd intended. But I am a mere slave to the wishes of this crazy lot *pats head*
> 
> See if you can spot a little hint I left behind this chapter. You'll find out what exactly it is in a little while, but it'd be so much more fun if you guessed.
> 
> Enjoy the Christmas Special tonight!


	21. Chapter Twenty-One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not even sure which direction I wanted this chapter to go in, but I do know that this was not it. I'm a slave to the muse *dramatic sigh*

 

* * *

_Chapter Twenty-One_

* * *

 

 

Martha Jones had seen quite a few strange things in her life. Between travelling with the Doctor, freelancing with Mickey, and working at UNIT, she had seen far too many unexplainable things. Upside-down rain and humans born from machines – and indeed cloned from green goo – for instance.

 

The sight that arrived in her lab that morning wasn’t strange, per se, but it still made her blink. As if summoned by Martha’s thoughts of the Progenation machine, Jenny walked in – or hobbled, supported by Jack, whose help she certainly did _not_ need, if her vehement arguments were anything to go by.

 

“Morning, Martha,” said Jack, with an apologetic smile. Turned out, an injured Time Lady was not to be trifled with.

 

“What happened?” she asked, recovering from her momentary shock and helping Jenny to sit on her lab table.

 

“Anwen discovered the _magic_ of building blocks,” Jenny replied, with a wry smile that hid a wince. “I broke my leg, and Jack and Gwen decided that it made much more sense to bring me to London instead of Cardiff General.”

 

Martha shook her head, examining the leg. “No, they were right. Your energy might have kicked in; we wouldn’t want that.”

 

“We _would_ want that. It hurts.”

 

She smiled. “I’m sure I can give you some painkillers. Not a lot of data on Time Lord medicine, but it’s not as if your dad’s around.”

 

Jenny looked as though she’d swallowed something bitter. Martha turned away, gathering the materials she needed to make a cast, and an unhealthy – in human standards – amount of painkillers. Jenny swallowed them down without complaint, and allowed her jeans to be cut with a notably higher amount of grumbling. Jack stood a short distance away, not saying anything. Martha made a mental note to talk to him later.

 

The pain gone, Jenny was much more agreeable. “Do you think I’d heal faster than a human?”

 

“I’m surprised you’re not healed right now,” Martha frowned at the injury. “Maybe regenerative energy is conserved for life-threatening wounds. The Master was able to … _refuse_ to regenerate, though.”

 

“Who’s the Master?”

 

“Another Time Lord,” she replied. “Childhood friend, adulthood enemy of your dad’s. He wanted to destroy the earth.”

 

“And?”

 

Martha allowed herself a proud smile. “And I stopped him. There. You’ll need crutches, too. And _rest_ ,” she turned to Jack. “Time off, you hear?”

 

“Aye, aye,” he replied, smiling softly.

 

She found a pair of crutches for Jenny, and set her off down the hall to try them out. Jack made to follow, but Martha snagged his sleeve, folding her arms once she had his attention.

 

“Are you all right?”

 

“Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”

 

“I don’t know; why aren’t you?”

 

Jack laid a hand on both her shoulders. “Martha, I’m _fine_. Just worried about Jenny, that’s all. Last time she was injured, it was a bullet.”

 

“Quite a difference between a bullet and a building block.”

 

“Indeed.”

 

She cocked her head to the side, staring at the man who had come to be one of her closest friends. “You care about her.”

 

“Yes, I do. And so do you. Which she’s got on her side.”

 

“She won’t get shot again, Jack.”

 

He smiled humourlessly. “And you can guarantee that, can you?”

 

The clink of metal against the floor broke the silence that fell between them at that. Jack’s hands fell back down by his sides, marking the end of their conversation.

 

* * *

 

 

“Where’s Gwen?” asked Jenny, leaning over Jack’s shoulder to look into the computer screen. He hadn’t looked up when she came into the office, but – what with the cumbersome aids she required to walk – there was no way that he hadn’t been alerted to her presence.

 

“At home,” he replied, finally glancing up to shoot her a look. “Where you should be.”

 

“Sitting at a computer is hardly taxing. Shoo.” She nudged him out of his chair with a crutch, sitting in his place. He glowered, and she patted his arm. The monitor displayed the recent rift activity. She inspected it. “There was a spike about twelve hours ago, right? You gonna check it out?”

 

He nodded, arms folded in a display of his distaste at being all but kicked out of his office.

 

“Take Sky with you. Do a little recon,” she suggested, and sighed at his look. “Don't look at me like that. I don't like sending her out, but it shouldn't be too dangerous. You need someone to watch your back, and Gwen and I are out of action,” she tapped her cast. “Besides, if you die and become evil alien fodder, it'll take you ages to revive. What use are you to us then?”

 

He smiled, only looking slightly affronted, which she took as a victory. “All right, I see where you're coming from.”

 

“Good,” she beamed. “Got your earpiece? I’ll be in touch. Try not to die!”

 

In the end, it was he who initiated contact. She looked up from the computer at the sound of Jack’s voice, pressing her earpiece in further the better to be able to hear. “Jack? What’s wrong?”

 

“ _Sky—_ ” he answered, and must have heard her sharp intake of breath, for he added, “ _She’_ _s_ _all right. There was a dog … or what we_ thought _was a dog._ ”

 

“Shape shifter?” she questioned, pulling up the UNIT database (that Martha may have given them unauthorised access to). “You don’t know what it is?”

 

“ _Haven’_ _t_ _seen_ _its true form._ _But_ _when Sky touched it – she was stung, almost. It looks like a .. welt._ ”

 

Jenny frowned. “You’re sure she’s all right?”

 

“ _I’m_ fine _, Jenny,_ ” Sky grumbled, voice muffled. “ _Honestly, you’re in a worse fix than me right now._ ”

 

“Very funny,” she replied, keeping her exhale of relief as silent as she could. “Right – describe the wound to me.”

 

“ _Red and blotchy._ ”

 

“Gonna need a little more to go on than that, kid. Is it still there?”

 

“ _No._ ” Jack’s voice had returned. “ _But we can track it._ ”

 

“See if you can bring it in,” Jenny decided. “We might need to treat Sky – you know what happened last time.”

 

She thought she could imagine his wry smile. “ _I’m not likely to forget any time soon. I’ll stay on the line. Have you got our location?_ ”

 

“Railway tunnel?”

 

“ _Spot on_.”

 

Silence fell, apart from the low conversation between Jack and Sky, which Jenny ignored in favour of searching through the database. There were more metamorphic aliens than she might have estimated, and all of them were hostile.

 

She didn’t register that there had been a commotion on the other end until it had passed, and Sky’s voice was in her ear (Jack’s in the background, complaining at how she’d stolen his earpiece), a distinct note of pride in it. “ _We got it! I knocked it out with my pendant. It’s still a dog_ ,” she added, and Jenny imagined her frowning at the creature.

 

“Are you coming back?”

 

“ _On the way_.”

 

It didn’t take them long to return to the hub, despite the fact that Jack carried an unconscious Labrador Retriever in his arms – “It’s probably best that it _didn’t_ turn into something else,” he remarked, heading immediately to the holding cells. Sky, to her credit, walked with Jenny at a slower pace – she would heal sooner than a human would, if Martha was to be believed, but it still felt like too long – beaming as she played with the pendant around her neck.

 

Jenny smiled in return, pride for her almost-sister overtaking all irritation caused by her injury. “Good job out there.”

 

She ducked her head. “Thanks.”

 

“You know … maybe you should be trained.”

 

Sky’s head snapped up, brown eyes confused. “For combat?”

 

“Well … not running into combat, at least." The reasons for keeping Sky from battle were as strong as they ever had been, but, then again, so was the Flesh Kind. "But, looking at the UNIT database, there are lots of aliens that can be seriously harmed by electricity. You could be our only hope, one day.”

 

“Sounds scary,” she admitted. Jenny smiled.

 

“You’re learning.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "You're learning" refers to how to be human. "If you're not scared, you're crazy," sort of way. It felt right to end it there without development, so just to clear up any possible confusion.
> 
> Jack/Jenny hints keep jumping out at me even though they're supposed to be a very very slow burn ship. Godammnit you two.


	22. Chapter Twenty-Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke's birthday has one surprise too many

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know about you, but I'm feeling twenty twoooo ... well, Luke is six, but this is chapter 22 XD  
> I have my giant sprawling mind map back, so that will hopefully result in more frequent chapters :3

* * *

_Chapter Twenty-Two_

* * *

"Good morning," said Jenny with a smile, proudly showing off her single crutch as she hobbled into the kitchen. Gwen stood by the counter, making herself a cup of tea. She smiled. "You're healing."

"Yeah. How are you feeling today?"

"Better," she nodded, cradling the mug in her hands, leaning against the counter. She did have a better look – more colour in her cheeks, a better way of carrying herself. "Whatever it was, it seems to be gone now."

Jenny set to making tea and toast for herself. The kitchen wouldn't be this quiet for much longer – Sky, Rhys and Anwen would be up soon – and she needed to make the most of it.

"Jenny, will you walk me to school?" asked Sky, in lieu of a "hello" or "good morning", tying her hair into a ponytail as she walked, and stealing a piece of Jenny's toast. Her protest was quashed before it could escape by a wide, innocent smile.

"Why?" she asked instead, pulling her plate closer to her chest protectively.

"Can I not just spend some quality time with my very good friend?"

Jenny arched an eyebrow. "No."

Sky huffed, finishing off her stolen slice of toast. "I want to talk to you about something."

"Talk to me later."

"I can't," Sky whined, pulling her best 'pity me' face. "It has to be this morning. C'mon, please? I'm sure Jack won't mind. Just, wear your hair down. And smile in that way you have."

" _What?_ " she spluttered, glad that she hadn't chosen that moment to take a drink of tea. "What are you talking about?"

Sky looked confused. "You're pretty."

"I'm aware, thank you. And? Have you been watching rom-coms again? Jack's not like that?"

"Actually—" Gwen cut in helpfully, but trailed off at Jenny's 'don't take her side!' look.

Sky switched tactics, pulling out the puppy-dog eyes in full force. "You love me, right?"

"Yes, Sky, I love you."

"Then why won't you walk me to school?"

She sighed long-sufferingly. "Fine, I'll walk you to school."

Sky beamed, and Jenny was positive that the kitchen light hadn't been as bright a second ago. "Thanks, Jenny!"

"Yeah, yeah. You owe me a slice of toast."

"It's Luke's birthday next week," Sky finally divulged, once they'd left the house and were on the way to the school. "Well, I say birthday. He was never actually born ... she trailed off. "Anyway, it's Luke's birthday next week, and I want to do something special for him. It's the first one he's had with me around, and, well."

"Without Sarah Jane?" Jenny supplied, smiling sadly when Sky nodded. "Do you have any ideas?"

"That was why I asked you."

Jenny laughed. "None whatsoever?"

Sky smiled sheepishly. "Cake?"

"Oh, yes. Cake is extremely important. What day is his birthday?"

"Wednesday."

"So you have school?"

"Yes."

"And he has lectures?"

"Probably."

"This isn't looking great, kid."

"I suppose we could just Skype him ..." Sky hung her head.

"Nah, we can't do that!" She nudged Sky's shoulder with her own, smiling when the younger girl looked up, a shy smile of her own appearing. "I'm sure I can persuade Gwen to write you a note so you can get off school early, and we'll catch the train, all right?"

Sky nodded, some of her enthusiasm returning. "We can surprise him!"

"Now you're talking, kiddo."

"Okay," Sky nodded, kissing Jenny on the cheek before rushing toward the school. She turned back momentarily to call, "I'll see you later! Thanks!"

Jenny smiled, shaking her head fondly as she continued on her way to the hub, pleased that she was barely leaning on the crutch.

"It was Sky's fault!" she called immediately, stepping off the lift.

Gwen snorted into her mug from where she leaned against a computer desk. "You didn't take that much persuading."

"She took my toast," Jenny grumbled. "Where's Jack?"

Gwen shrugged. "He left a note. Apparently there's something weird going on in Penarth, that he couldn't wait to tell us before he left."

"Sounds fishy. You're sure it's his handwriting?"

"Yes, as sure as I can be."

Jenny nodded, picking up the note from the desk on which it had been laid. She knew little of Jack's handwriting, and could only go on the tone. It read like something he would write; she relaxed slightly.

"What did Sky want to talk to you about?" asked Gwen, leaning over the computer to type something in.

"Luke's birthday," Jenny responded. "Which reminds me, can you write a note to her school for Wednesday? Say that she has an appointment or something? She wants to go and surprise him."

"I can do that," said Gwen with a smile. "Not that I condone skipping school or anything."

Jenny laughed. "I wouldn't know. I've never been to a school."

"You're not missing much," she assured.

"I'll definitely take your word for it."

* * *

Sky was waiting outside the school on Wednesday when Jenny approached. She beamed, looking to the man standing beside her – a member of staff, Jenny guessed, waiting to assure that Sky wasn't just bunking off – for confirmation before rushing toward her.

"Hey kiddo," she smiled down at the Flesh Kind. "You ready to go?"

Sky nodded vehemently, and they set off toward the train station. The younger girl was practically skipping beside her. Jenny smiled fondly.

"Does this mean that I can expect a surprise on my next birthday?"

"When is it, again?" Sky tilted her head to the side, birdlike in her curiosity. "We missed it this year, right?"

"Not necessarily," Jenny responded. "I wasn't on earth when it happened, and time is different in space and on other planets. I kept track of days as I understood them. I was one thousand, one hundred and twenty seven days old before I came to Earth, a little older than I am in Earth terms. My birthday was the twenty fourth of July in the year 6012, but that was a different calendar. It doesn't matter, as such. Not when I'll end up losing track eventually."

Sky listened to the explanation with wide eyes. All she said, in the end, was, "Luke is six today."

They lapsed into silence until they had boarded the train. Seemingly only then noticing that Jenny was carrying a plastic bag along with her handbag, asked, "Did you get cake?"

"I got cake," Jenny assured. "Red velvet."

"Good," the younger girl nodded. "Luke likes cake. And Charlie eats everything."

Jenny laughed at that.

They chatted as the train rattled out of the country, moving toward Oxford. Sky's training was a subject Jenny was reluctant on, given that she hadn't officially asked Jack yet. She had decided, however, that she would probably be the best for the job, apart from Gwen. She was close to Sky in build, and knew enough in order to pass on survival skills. Though she was amused when she imagined Jack trying to train her.

Sky was happy enough to drop the subject once she'd extracted the promise that Jenny was not changing her mind. She turned to gaze out of the window, then, not displaying any interest when Jenny's phone chimed.

It was a text from Clyde, which read  _En route._ He, Rani and Maria had been more than willing to join in on the 'surprise Luke for his birthday' plan, though he had perhaps had taken the 'surprise' element a little too far. Rani had drawn the line at code names.

When they had almost reached the train station, Jenny retrieved her mobile again in order to call Luke. He answered, sounding a little harried and confused.

" _Jenny, is something wrong? I can't really talk right now, I have a lecture …_ "

"Can you skip the rest of school today?" she asked, instead of answering his question. "Would you be able to get notes from your course mates?"

" _Something_ is _wrong?_ " Dread had crept into his voice now. " _Is it Sky? She's not sick again, is she?_ "

"No," Jenny assured. She heard him blow out a sigh of relief. "But there is something we need to talk to you about, face to face. It's important."

" _All right_ ," said Luke eventually. " _I'll ask Caroline if I can copy her notes later …_ " There was a slight commotion. " _It's Jenny. No, nothing's wrong. I've gotta go and meet her, though …_ " he sighed again, this one exasperated. " _Can Charlie tag along?_ "

Jenny stifled the laugh that threatened to escape. "I was counting on it, in fact."

" _Right, where should we meet?_ "

"Outside the college. We'll be there in ten minutes."

There was another crackle of commotion, and Charlie's voice sounded in her ear. " _See you then._ "

Sky raised an amused eyebrow when Jenny hung up. "You could be an actress."

"Nah, I'd be rubbish," she replied, leaning her elbows on the table that separated her from the Flesh Kind. "Luke would be great; he'd just look at the script once and have his lines memorised."

"That's not the only thing you need to act."

"You want to be my agent?"

Sky laughed. "Sure, if the pay is good."

"Oh, she's a  _businesswoman,_ " said Jenny, drawing back as if in shock. "Maybe it'd be a waste to train you to fight when we could launch you on the world as a manager."

"You promised," said Sky, holding up a finger.

"I did," she replied, voice soft. "C'mon, kiddo. Let's surprise this brother of yours."

* * *

They ended up splitting at the train station, as Clyde, Rani and Maria were waiting for them. They took Sky and the cake in order to set up in Luke's dormitory. Jenny was tasked with being the distraction, a job that worked a little too well, in the end.

Charlie was not there when Jenny reached the wall that Luke was sitting on, but she was assured that he was on his way. She sat next to him.

"So, how are you?"

"Good," Luke nodded. "Things are gearing up now, you know. Only four months until exams." He waved his hands in what Jenny surmised was supposed to represent the scariness that exams presented. Sky had complained that she had only been on Earth a short time, and yet she would have to sit state examinations in two years. "How are things at Torchwood?"

"Same old. We had a run in with a Zygon the other week. It fancied itself as a harmless puppy. Sky got a hit, but she was fine."

"She told me, actually," Luke informed her. "We talked on the phone. She said that Gwen was sick, too?"

Jenny nodded. "She's feeling better now, I think. She's back in the hub at least."

She fell silent as a young man – most likely a fellow student at the university – passed them. He paused, opening his mouth as if to say something, but he remained silent, shaking his head as he continued on his way. Luke, who has been smiling at Jenny while they shared their news, was now pale and clearly upset.

"Who was that?" Jenny asked softly.

"My …" Luke swallowed, his grip tightening on the wall, turning his knuckles white. "His name is Sanjay. We used to date, in first year. Um, it was great. He's really cool, and smart, and funny. But … it didn't end well."

"I'm sorry, Luke," she reached out to take his hand. He accepted, a faint smile blooming on his face.

"No, it's okay. That's part of the whole experience of living, right? The good, the bad …"

He trailed off, paling once more as a weevil appeared in front of them.

"The ugly?" she suggested, sliding from the wall and glancing over at him to verify that he had moved into a defensive position.

"Where did it come from?" Luke demanded, looking wildly around as they worked to direct the creature away from the university.

"Where's the nearest sewer?" Jenny called. "It probably came up from there! Why didn't we hear any commotion?"

Luke shook his head, fumbling in his pocket. Jenny, understanding, landed a kick to the weevil's midriff while he made the call.

"My name is Luke Smith," he said to whoever was on the other side of the phone. "I'm a part time Torchwood operative. I know Kate Stewart, Martha Jones and Mickey Smith. You can trust me." A pause. "Good idea, you won't regret it. We've got a weevil outside Oxford University. Help would be appreciated. Thank you."

"Are they sending someone?" Jenny called over her shoulder, directing the weevil towards a manhole cover she'd picked out.

"Yeah!" he jogged over, adding, "good idea!" when he realised what she was doing, and running ahead in order to move the cover. The civilians around had, thankfully, moved away, hopefully thinking that what they had seen was an elaborate prank or a figment of their imagination. Even so, UNIT would probably add retcon to the local water supply when they arrived on the scene.

If they were even required. With the manhole uncovered, Jenny landed a blow to the weevil's head, hoping it was enough to knock it out, and it fell down. Luke slid the cover back into place.

"Right," he said, exhaling heavily. "That was fun."

Jenny grinned. "Happy birthday."

Luke shook his head. "Of course. It was because of my birthday. Who else is here?"

"Sky, Clyde, Rani and Maria," she divulged. "Speaking of …"

Luke's expression became suddenly wary. "Speaking of what?"

She steeled herself. She had never seen Luke angry, but it was doubtful a pretty experience. "Is it because of what happened with Sanjay? That you won't take a chance with Maria?"

"I don't—"

"We've been over this, remember?" she shot him down with a quelling look. "Are you scared of having your heart broken? Because you shouldn't. Like you said, it's all part of life."

Luke was silent for a long moment. Eventually, he asked, "Have you ever been in love?"

"No," Jenny replied. "Not that way. I do love you, though, and Sky, and Gwen –"

He nodded, signifying that he understood and cutting her off. "Think of how you'd feel if you couldn't see one of us anymore; couldn't be around one of us. And then multiply it. It's hard to get over. I'm not even over it  _now._  And I've already lost Maria once. So I'm sorry that I'm not ready to launch myself into that again."

"What the hell just happened?"

Jenny glanced behind her to see Charlie. She frowned at him. "What took you so long?"

"I was hiding from the monster!" he replied, sounding a little crazed. His glasses were askew, and he reached up to fix them.

"Alien," Luke corrected, gaze fixed on the manhole cover that separated them from it. "It's called a weevil."

"I don't care what it's called," said Charlie, eyes wide. "I care that it's not coming back. It's not, right?"

"I think I knocked it out," said Jenny, too glancing to the cover. "Someone from UNIT is on the way, probably to contain it."

"Containment is good."

Jenny smiled almost fondly at Charlie. He continued to take the extra-terrestrial in his stride, even if he was fearful. Fear was good. Fear would keep him alive.

A nondescript van with the UNIT logo emblazoned on the side pulled up, and two familiar faces emerged: Martha and Mickey.

Martha grinned. "Miss us?"

"Very much," said Jenny, bending to help Luke remove the manhole cover once more. Martha removed a Taser from her belt and began the descent.

"It's unconscious!" she called up.

"That was me," Jenny added, as Mickey knelt over the edge of the hole in order to help hoist the weevil up. It was bundled into the van (very securely, Martha assured them).

"Looks like you didn't need us at all, huh?" Mickey smiled at her.

"Well, it would've woken up again. I didn't want to kill it, even if it is …"

"Evil?" Charlie suggested.

Jenny nodded. "Let's go with that. Are you guys heading off again? You could stay for cake."

Luke brightened. "You got me cake?"

"Of course," she smiled at him. "It's your birthday."

"I was never actually born," he pointed out.

Jenny merely shrugged. "Neither was I."

"No thanks," said Martha. "We've got to head back. It was nice seeing you, though. Happy birthday, Luke."

He nodded his thanks. Mickey tipped a salute before leaving.

"So …" said Jenny eventually, glancing between the two boys. "Cake?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think, that with Sanjay, things went south when Luke told him what he was. Some people just can't handle everything they knew being a lie, y'know.


	23. Chapter Twenty-Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fluuuff. So much fluff. Also a seedling that will grow into ... something. Stay tuned for that.  
> I'm in sixth year this year (it's my last year of school, which means big-ass exams in June), so writing is slow going. Please bear with me <3

_Chapter Twenty-Three_

* * *

It was late – late enough that Sky had been in pyjamas, her hair in two plaits, and Gwen had been falling asleep in front of the television – when Jack appeared on their doorstep.

He was … dishevelled, to say the least. He held his coat, which had been dirtied by some green substance, under one arm. Blood bloomed on his shirt, indicating that he had most likely died at least once. His face was worn, eyes tired.

"We need to talk," he said.

Gwen nodded dumbly. Jenny, who had been standing at her shoulder, stood aside to let Jack pass through. Sky and Rhys stared from their positions on the couch and armchair, respectively. Jenny shook her head to affirm she didn't know what had happened, while Gwen directed Jack to the pile of his clothes they kept for situations such as these.

"I went to Penarth," Jack told them, in a poor attempt at an explanation, once he had cleaned up somewhat, his dirty clothes in the washing machine, and sat before them.

Rhys raised his eyebrows. "You usually get into a slime fight in Penarth?"

Jack smirked, but the expression was muted by his fatigue. "Not if I can help it, no. I ran into some Slitheen."

"Ran into?" Gwen repeated. "That's why you left in a huge hurry? And spent _four_ days there?"

"I tracked them," he amended. "Usually, they prefer to be close to the rift. I was suspicious."

"Penarth _is_ close to the rift," Sky pointed out, with a puzzled frown.

Jack shook his head. "I mean right on top of it. Even Penarth is far."

"Right. So what are the Slitheen, exactly?"

"They come from …" Sky scrunched up her nose in concentration. "Raxacoricofallapatorius." She looked delighted that she'd managed to say it properly, and reached out for a high five, which Jenny was happy to provide. Jack smiled sadly. "They tried to use Luke to harness the power of the sun when he was younger."

"One of them was your mayor," Jack added, nodding to a horrified-looking Gwen and Rhys. "In 2006."

"How did it get away with that?" asked Gwen.

"They use people's skin as a disguise."

"Delightful," she muttered. "I think I'm just going to go and throw up, now."

"So," said Jenny, biting her lip, "you reckon it's strange that the Slitheen have moved away from the rift?"

"That's the gist of it, yeah."

She smiled wryly. "Then you might want to hear what we have to say."

* * *

It was almost like a war council, Jenny mused, but much more civil. Then again, the only other experience she'd had had been with General Cobb, who had been anything but. Her hand strayed to the point of her chest where she'd been shot, and she shut her eyes to rid herself of the memories.

They had moved now, summoned by the lure of tea in the kitchen, and were sat around the table. Sky, still in her pyjamas and hugging her knees, and Jack, in the most casual wear Jenny had ever seen him in, made for an odd pair. Sprawled out across the table was a map of Great Britain (with Scotland and Northern Ireland folded over), where they'd marked out the locations of not only the Slitheen and Weevils but also other unusual alien activity UNIT had come across.

"There has to be some connection," was a phrase that had been bounced between them countless times, though they were no closer to finding that connection.

Gwen sighed, rubbing her forehead. Rhys, sitting beside her, put a comforting arm around her, asking quiet questions about her wellbeing. Her hand dropped to the table with a thud.

"Gwen?" asked Jenny.

She shook her head. "I'm all right, just a bit tired. I think we should call it a night." When the others nodded their assent, she turned to Jack. "Are you going to stay? You can take the couch, or one of the beds, if Jenny—"

"I'm not tired," she answered immediately.

So it was that she was left there in the moonlit kitchen, sipping her tea and watching the hypnotic cycle of the washing machine.

* * *

"How long have you been there?"

Jenny didn't start at the sound of Jack's voice, but she was surprised to hear it. She blinked, glancing over at him. He must have just woken up, for he was barefoot and shirtless, dressed only in the same tracksuit bottoms Gwen had given him the night before.

"All night," she replied honestly, untangling her limbs and stretching out her legs. "I fell into a stupor around three, but I didn't need any sleep."

Jack didn't shake his head at her or huff out a laugh, he merely sat in a chair beside her.

"Did _you_ sleep much?" Jenny asked.

"Not nearly enough," he replied, scrubbing a hand over his face. He smiled weakly. "Don't worry, it takes more than that to get me down."

"Like an alien invasion of Great Britain?" Jenny suggested wryly.

Jack wrinkled his nose. "Let's not think about that. There are aliens in London all the time. Doc'd be out of business if there weren't."

She felt a stab of sadness in her heart, but didn't give voice to it. It was getting easier to deal with. She was bound to cross paths with her father eventually. She just had to be patient. "Not weevils, though."

"No," Jack sighed. "Not weevils."

As if they had come to some silent agreement, they both rose, then. Jack to move his clothes from the washing machine to the drier, and Jenny to boil the kettle for tea.

Almost as if summoned by the noise and the promise of the beverage that came with it, Sky ambled into the kitchen, in her pyjamas. Her hair was still in the two plaits, but they were loose and messy.

"G'morning," she yawned, pulling out a chair to sit at the table. "Can I have some tea?"

Jenny nodded. "Are Gwen and Rhys up yet?"

"I heard the shower going," Sky replied. "So someone must be."

Jenny was pouring out tea for the three of them – deciding to leave Gwen and Rhys's until she was sure they were awake – when Gwen appeared, fully dressed, keys in hand.

She stopped short, clearly not having expected an audience.

"We – we're out of milk," she said, heading for the door as though she wanted to win a marathon.

Sky frowned, looking from the door that had been slammed shut to the three-quarters full milk carton on the table.

"What was that about?" she asked, curling a hand around her mug of tea.

"I don't know, kid," Jenny replied. "I don't know."

"We'll talk to her when she gets back," said Jack, his jaw set and eyes fixed on the closed front door.

They shared a modest breakfast of tea and toast, telling Rhys that Gwen had said she was going to the shops when he joined them. They didn't mention how odd she'd acted; that they could deal with upon her return.

Jack left to shower and dress when he had finished eating, and so was absent when Gwen returned. She sat at the kitchen table with them, remaining silent.

"What's going on?" Jenny asked her, deciding against folding her arms. She didn't want this to seem like an interrogation.

She drew in a breath, and promptly burst into tears.

Jenny and Sky stared at her in bewilderment, while Rhys immediately moved to comfort her. She was smiling, however, and … laughing?

"What's happened?" Sky asked, her nose wrinkled in confusion.

Gwen dabbed at her eyes with a tissue that Rhys had handed her, composing herself enough to announce, "I'm pregnant."

Rhys kissed her soundly, and they embraced. Jenny and Sky joined in, making for a slightly damp (for Rhys was now crying as well) group hug.

"What is happening?" asked Jack. They all turned to look at him, and started laughing.

"What?" he demanded, indignantly now. Sky merely pulled him into the hug, which was now even damper with the addition of his hair, still wet from the shower.

"Gwen's pregnant," Rhys finally said, causing Jack to exclaim happily, pressing a kiss to her head.

"I'm happy," said Gwen, once the hug had broken apart and she was drinking a mug of tea. "It came as a bit of a shock, but I'm happy. I don't know what Anwen will think, though."

"She'll be happy to have a little brother or sister," Sky assured, beaming.

Jenny nodded, smiling, and fished her phone from her pocket, hearing it chime five time in quick succession They were all messages from Charlie.

' _We can die happy matchmakers!_ '

' _Well I can_ '

' _Not so sure about you_ '

' _Actually definitely not sure about you_ '

' _What's your deal?'_

She shook her head fondly, sending back a ' _Go to class_ ' _._

' _Check the calendar, Jen. It's Sunday._ '

Giving up on Charlie entirely, she pulled up Luke's contact. ' _Congrats_ ', she sent, and then added _, I told you so_ '.

' _Shut up._ '

She laughed. Despite the looming alien threat, it was a good day.


	24. Chapter Twenty-Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been so long since I had time to write, so I was really happy to get this chapter out.
> 
> I have a question for you readers: how would you feel if I gave this fic a name (after three and a half years XD) and called it 'Bury the Future Behind'? It's a reference to Gabrielle Aplin's Home, and both a reference to the whole time travel part of this story, and the fact that an overarching theme of this fic is Jenny finding a home and family on earth.

* * *

_Chapter Twenty-Four_

* * *

 

 

Jenny – happening to glance over at the CCTV footage of the Roald Dahl Plass – saw Sky coming before she arrived at the hub. The young girl was beaming, clutching a sheet of paper close to her chest. Her hair, which had been in a ponytail that morning, flew around her face in the biting late-Winter breeze.

 

Curious, she cast a glance back to the lift, which had begun to clank in preparation for its descent. When Sky came into view, she ran right to her, exclaiming happily that she had received the results of her Christmas tests, and thrusting the sheet to her.

 

“I got an A* in Maths!” she declared, pointing to the result.

 

Jenny frowned at the array of letters on the piece of paper in her hands. “What exactly is an A*?”

 

“The highest grade you can get,” Gwen informed, helpfully, appearing in order to pull Sky into a hug and press a kiss atop her head. “Well done!”

 

Sky preened, smiling broadly. “Thanks, Gwen.”

 

Jenny, who had found the percentages printed in the third column much more helpful, declared that they should celebrate.

 

“Can we go to Cadwaladers?”

 

“Sure thing, kiddo. I’ll get my coat.”

 

They ordered ice creams – Sky caramel and Jenny mint choc chip – and sat on the pier in order to eat them. Passers-by shot them funny looks, a bracing late-January day as it was, but they were happily ignored.

 

“Do you like school?” Jenny asked curiously, swinging her legs off the edge the pier. Something about the sea calmed her. She loved to be near it.

 

Sky nodded vehemently. “It’s part of life here, you know? It’s nice to have that. And I made some friends.”

 

Jenny beamed. “That’s great! You should invite them round to the house.”

 

She cocked her head to the side. “And tell them what?”

 

“That Gwen’s your guardian, I suppose,” Jenny mused, staring at her ice cream cone as if it held the answers. “And that I’m a family friend, or something.”

 

“Okay! But,” she dragged out the word, attempting to look coy with shining eyes and a smudge of ice cream on her nose. “I’d like something else too.”

 

Jenny smiled, amused. “Would you, now? What might that be?”

 

“For you to start training me.”

 

She reached out, wiping away the ice cream from Sky’s nose. “Sure, kid. We’ll start as soon as possible.”

 

* * *

 

 

As soon as possible, though Sky did not know it, was dependant on outside influences other than Jenny perfecting her teaching technique. It didn’t take long, however, until Jack, leaning over the railing of the landing above her head, called, “Jenny? Could you come into the office for a minute?”

 

“Stop trying to sound like we’re a proper organisation!” she called back, though she left her desk and did just that, leaning against Jack’s desk. “What’s up?”

 

"Special delivery from UNIT,” he replied, with a smile, handing her a box with ‘PRECIOUS CARGO’ stamped on it in black, and ‘PRIVATE’ in red. She opened it, freeing the metal tube from its bubble wrap casing. It was about half the length of her arm, and just as thick, tapered at both ends and with rubber grips in the middle.

 

“You got it!” she exclaimed delightedly, examining the baton. It was alien technology – useless to UNIT as they didn’t have a power source for it – capable of killing, at its extreme, and most definitely of incapacitating an enemy. If all else failed, Sky could whack someone or thing over the head with it. It was much stronger than the pendant Sky wore, and could be used in tandem with it. That, along with hand-to-hand combat, would be enough to ensure the Flesh Kind could handle herself in a fight.

 

“Not me,” said Jack, gesturing to his computer screen. Jenny leaned backward to see Martha on the screen. She smiled and waved, holding a mug in the other hand.

 

“Thanks Martha,” she beamed. “Sky will love this.”

 

“It wasn’t much use to us, rotting away in the archives.”

 

Jack seemed surprised. “Kate takes her archives very seriously, I thought. She even convinced me to give up this –” he waved his wrist, to which the vortex manipulator was attached, towards the camera –”when I find a death that sticks.”

 

Martha laughed. “Those are some pretty extreme terms.”

 

“What does it take for a death to stick?” asked Jenny.

 

“Three days, is the rule of thumb,” he shrugged. “Sometimes it takes longer. A bomb in my chest, that took a _while_. Agony, too. When my life force was drained by a demon; that took a few days.”

 

He spoke so nonchalantly, as if it were no big deal. Both Jenny and Martha, is the way the latter was frowning at the camera was any indication, knew that this wasn’t the case.

 

“Rather you than me,” was all Martha said. “All right, I’d better get back to doing something. Tell Sky that she’s welcome.”

 

“Will do,” Jenny smiled. “Thanks again.”

 

“See you around, Minnie Mouse.”

 

Martha signed off with a half-serious salute, the computer emitting an almost sad-sounding noise when the Skype call ended.

 

“Sky should be here in a few minutes,” said Jack, almost conversationally.

 

“All right. Send her down when she arrives.”

 

In preparation for such a day, Jenny had brought comfortable clothes for both her and Sky in which they could easily train. Setting the baton down in the training room (that doubled as a shooting range, what with the vast expanse of an old railway line stretched before them), she grabbed the duffel and went to change.

 

“Jenny?” came Sky’s voice, and then her footsteps. “Jack said he wanted to talk to you. What are you doing down here?”

 

“In here!” she called, when Sky’s footsteps didn’t come any closer; she must have gone to check the cells first.

 

A head of brown hair popped in the upper corner of doorway, captured loosely in a messy ponytail. The girl to which it belonged was still wearing her uniform, and she looked confused until she saw what Jenny was wearing. Then, her eyes lit up, and she bounded down the last few steps and launched herself at Jenny.

 

Expecting this, she caught Sky easily, returning her hug with equal fervour. “A promise is a promise, kiddo.”

 

“Are we starting right now?”

 

Jenny nodded, handing her the duffel bag. “I brought some clothes from home for you; go get changed.”

 

Sky returned several moments later, her hair in a noticeably more secure updo, and a wide smile still in place.

 

“All right, come here.” She led the Flesh Kind over to the table where she had laid down the baton. There were also wooden sticks with which to parry, bandages for Sky’s hands so that she could practice alone with a punch bag once she had learned the basics, and a handgun. Jenny averted her gaze from the latter. She was still reluctant to teach Sky how to use it. Perhaps just how to empty it, if she could wrest it away from an attacker.

 

“This,” she held out the object, “is an electroshock baton. Jack had it brought up from the UNIT archives especially for you.”

 

Sky opened her mouth to say something, but Jenny cut her off with a smile. “You can thank him and Martha later. Normally it would need a battery, but I don’t think that’s the case with you, is it?”

 

Sky shook her head, reaching out tentatively. The weapon sparked, not enough to cause any damage, but enough to verify the point. Jenny handed over the baton and turned to set up the targets.

 

“It has enough power to kill, if used correctly.” She bit her lip, looking back at Sky, who was still examining her new weapon. “I think we can use that as a last resort.”

 

“I don’t want to kill anyone.”

 

“I don’t want you to either.”

 

There was silence, in which Jenny could hear the other girl move closer.

 

“It doesn’t make you a bad person, the killing,” she said, quietly.

 

There was a hand on the small of her back. Jenny turned back to see Sky looking at her, concerned. She offered a weak smile.

 

“It doesn’t make me a good person. It stays with you. I can still see their faces …” she shook her head. “I hope you never have to experience it.”

 

She returned her focus to the task at hand, and Sky moved away from her.

 

“Now, you can emit the electricity in a beam, so you don’t have to be up close to do damage. Here, aim …”

 

* * *

 

 

Once Sky had gotten the hang of her baton, Jenny moved to hand-to-hand combat.

 

“Usually, you’ll be facing off against a life form bigger than you,” she explained. “I’m sure Jack’ll let you practice your skills on him when you grasp the basics.”

 

There was a chuckle from the doorway. “I’m sure he will.”

 

“Everything okay?” Jenny asked, wary that he had come to find them because of an emergency.

 

Jack nodded. “Gwen was just wondering if you two were thinking of heading home any time soon.”

 

Sky frowned, checking her wristwatch. “It’s six o’ clock? Already?”

 

“Time flies when you’re having fun, so they say.” He moved over to the targets, most of which had crackling holes blasted through them. “This was you?”

 

“Yep,” Sky beamed, looking no less pleased with herself than she ought to have been.

 

“Good work,” Jack smiled at them both.

 

Sky held her hand up for a high-five, which Jenny was only too happy to acquiesce.

 

“Now, we should all go home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Being Irish, I'm not too sure about the British education system, but I think they grade tests in that way? It's hardly just the state exams, is it? I also know nothing about fighting, which is why I didn't go into detail there.


	25. Chapter Twenty-Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everybody! Long time no see, huh?
> 
> As you can tell, I've gone with the title change. I hope it works :)
> 
> I can tell you that chapters 26-28 go together and should be uploaded in fairly short intervals, maybe even all together. These holidays are going to consist of me writing as much as I can XD

* * *

_Chapter Twenty-Five_

* * *

 

“I’m nervous,” Sky declared, as though her nervous pacing hadn’t been enough to give that away. “Why am I nervous?”

 

“You don’t think we’re going to show you up, do you?” Jenny joked, glancing down at Anwen, who was sitting in her lap and playing with a plush toy. “She’s ashamed of us, Anwen!”

 

Sky waved a hand (though her sweater sleeves were so long that it was more of a flapping of fabric), fondly annoyed. “You know that I’m not.”

 

“There’s no need to be nervous. You’ve known Emma for months. I’m sure she’s a good friend.”

 

“I think it’s just because she doesn’t know me outside of school. To her, I’m just the girl who’s good at science.”

 

“Is Emma good at science?”

 

Sky nodded excitedly. “Especially Physics.”

 

"Well, if all else fails, you can talk about Physics,” Jenny smiled. “Isn’t that right, Anwen?”

 

The toddler, who was inclined to agree with most anything, nodded.

 

“You’re sure you’ll be all right?” asked Gwen as she breezed past, stopping only to kiss Anwen's forehead. “I mean, Emma could be …”

 

"We’ll be fine. But will you be?” Jenny frowned. “Are you sure you don’t want someone to go with you?”

 

Gwen laughed. “Have you been reading articles on the internet again? I could do a scan myself in the hub, if anything this a courtesy to my doctors.”

 

“Bring us back a picture?” Sky requested, a hopeful smile breaking through her worried demeanour. Having lost the chance to be a baby herself, she was fascinated by the chance to see Gwen’s child develop, be born, and grow up.

 

"Count on it," she beamed. “I’ll see you later. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!”

 

“That gives us quite a lot of scope,” said Jenny, raising an eyebrow until Sky laughed. “What are you planning on doing?”

 

The Flesh Kind gave a delicate shrug. “Talk, watch TV. Maybe we could go for a walk, it’s a nice day.”

 

That much was true. In February, it was technically spring, but pleasant days were few and far between. When the sun fought through, however, it was beautiful, and Jenny revelled in it.

 

“So, do you want us to get lost?”

 

“Of course not,” she smiled, turning to Anwen. “She’s trying to give me a bad name. Isn’t she awful?”

 

Typically, Anwen agreed.

 

Emma was a slim girl, slightly taller than Sky, with dark hair and shining green eyes. She easily accepted Jenny as a family friend, and greeted Anwen excitedly.

 

They watched _How I Met Your Mother_ together, discussing the characters and plotlines. Jenny, who in turn had been persuaded by Anwen, persuaded the two girls to make chocolate chip cookies. Once they’d them, they needed something to go with them.

 

“Shall we go to Cadwaladers?” Sky suggested.

 

“What?” Emma frowned, looking between the two of them, and Anwen, who was clapping her hands. She loved the toffee pudding ice cream Gwen sometimes bought her from there.

 

“It’s a shop on Mermaid Quay,” Jenny explained, cleaning off the table where they’d made the cookies. “They do the best coffee and ice cream in Wales, apparently. I can’t attest to that; I’ve never been anywhere else in Wales.”

 

“Let’s go, then,” Emma beamed.

 

Anwen immediately set off ahead of them, tipping her head up toward the sunlight, though she knew not to go too far, and sporadically glanced over her shoulder to make sure the other three were close behind.

 

“You don’t usually come into the city very often, then?” Jenny asked Emma. “Apart from school?”

 

“No, not really. I live in Leckwith. It’s not too far away, but still, it’s easier to stay at home most of the time.”

 

“Huh. I guess we’re lucky we’re so close. Well, Gwen and Jenny need to be, for their jobs.”

 

“You work in the city centre?” Emma asked, smiling at Jenny.

 

“Yup. I’ll show you, if you want. Anwen, c’mere, we’re gonna cross the road.”

 

Jenny pointed vaguely towards the tourist centre entrance of the hub as they passed. “That’s it, over there. The Tourist Office. Not many people drop by nowadays, what with the internet and everything. But we do okay. Or maybe the boss just takes pity on us.”

 

Sky snorted. “Jack wouldn’t do that.”

 

She shrugged. “You never know, he’s a big softie underneath it all.”

 

“Sounds like a nice place to work.”

 

“It is.”

 

Sky went into the shop to buy the ice creams and coffee, while Jenny, Anwen and Emma waited outside, admiring the sea.

 

There was something about the open waves that comforted Jenny, even though she had never taken to them. It reminded her of space, of that feeling of freedom she’d had while she travelled. The whole universe.

 

Someday, she decided, she’d take a boat ride.

 

“What did you get me?” she asked Sky immediately, infected by Anwen’s excitement when it came to ice cream.

 

“Chocolate fudge,” she smiled in return, passing over the tub. She’d gotten coconut for herself, and raspberry ripple for Emma. Anwen had the toffee pudding, which she was delighted with. There was also a tub to put in the freezer for Gwen when she returned.

 

“And coffees,” Sky tipped the tray over slightly, not enough to spill any of them. “C’mon, let’s get back and eat our cookies!”

 

When Gwen came back, they were seated around the kitchen table, eating ice cream with crushed cookies and drinking coffee. Anwen had an ice cream moustache, and she beamed at her mother.

 

“Ice cream!” she announced.

 

“I can see that,” she laughed, accepting the offered cookie. “So this is what you girls have been up to?”

 

“There’s a tub of rocky road for you in the freezer,” Sky smiled. Gwen kissed the top of her head.

 

“Bless you!”

 

“How’d it go?” asked Jenny, leaning back in her chair to catch Gwen’s eye.

 

“Very well,” she assured. “Baby’s healthy, normal. And another scan in a few weeks.”

 

“Did you get a picture?”

 

Gwen merely smiled, moving over to the fridge. When she stepped away, the sonogram had been pinned in place with a magnet.

 

Jenny and Sky scrambled to their feet immediately, abandoning their ice creams. The shape could be distinguished as a foetus; they could see the head, and one fist.

 

“It looks like a kidney bean,” mused Jenny, interested, while Sky waved a slightly awkward Emma over.

 

“Look at my baby sibling,” she beamed.

 

Gwen, who had been examining the cookies, looked around, the touched surprise evident on her face. Jenny shrugged. It made sense.

 

Her phone rang, and she moved into the sitting room to answer it, smiling when she saw who it was.

 

“Hey, Martha. What’s up?”

 

“ _It’s bad news, I’m afraid,”_ said Martha, sounding tired and defeated. “ _I couldn’t get a hold of Jack, is he all right?_ ”

 

“As far as I know,” Jenny frowned, glancing back into the kitchen. If something was wrong, he would have contacted Gwen, surely. “I haven’t seen him today.”

 

“ _I’m in Brighton_ ,” she continued. “ _UNIT sent us down here to deal with a Sontaran platoon._ ”

 

Jenny balked. “An entire platoon?”

 

“ _Yes_ ,” Martha sounded grim. “ _Whatever … this is, it’s not good. I think we’re going to need your help on this one._ ”

 

“Whatever you need,” she promised, adding grimly, “provided there’s no crisis down here.”

 

“ _Provided that._ ”

 

“I’ll talk to you later, take care.”

 

“Who was that?” Gwen smiled, as Jenny re-entered the kitchen.

 

“Martha,” she smiled in return, and left it at that. Not only because Emma would have no idea what Sontarans were, but also because Gwen, Sky and Anwen looked so happy.


End file.
